


At the Top

by seori



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fauxmance to romance, Harry Potter Next Generation, POV Alternating, Probably too many weasel-related endearments, Romantic Comedy, Weasel-related Endearments, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-04
Updated: 2017-11-08
Packaged: 2018-02-16 03:54:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 44,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2254926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seori/pseuds/seori
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Commencing Operation Get Scorpius a Girlfriend (because frankly he needs all the help he can get). Blackmail is an ugly business, but it's the only way Scorpius can persuade Rose to pretend to be his girlfriend in order to make his ex jealous. It's a fool-proof plan! (... isn't it?)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Breaking Point

"Weasley," Scorpius began, in earnest (though rather hushed) tones. "There's a new Ministry decree. They've been forced to reintroduce arranged marriages for anybody still unmarried. Weasley, you're the only hope for a wretch like me. Without you, they'll put my family in Azkaban. My mother - her health is failing. She won't survive a month there. Will you be my wife?"

Rose turned over the page in her book.

"Weasley?" He waited for a moment, before assuming the same pleading expression. He even clasped his hands for effect, and then wondered if this was too far. "Not even for my desperately ill mother?"

"Your mother seemed in perfectly good health when she sent you that Howler last week," Rose said absently.

Scorpius almost grinned, but suppressed the expression in time. Weasley rarely missed a trick. It was part of what made her one of his favourite sparring partners. He leaned over, taking care to keep his voice low. "Howlers can be deceiving. C'mon. Please? It's a bona-fide Ministry decree. Without me, you could end up with some part-troll like Warrington over there."

Finally, Rose looked up from her reading. "Which one is Warrington?"

Surprised, Scorpius pointed the offender out. He was actually astonished that Warrington knew where the library was, even after six years, but on the other hand, maybe Scorpius was giving the guy too much credit. Maybe Warrington was lost on the way to Transfiguration or something.

"Okay," Rose said, considering. Scorpius's triumphant smile halted when she continued, "I like the look of him. I'll marry Warrington."

"You - wait, what? Warrington? No, Weasley, he's the one near the window."

"Yes. The one not inventing scenarios to keep me from reading. Now, bugger off, Malfoy."

Scorpius was about to continue arguing with her, when a hand landed on the back of his seat, tilting it backwards. He flailed briefly, hands scrabbling for purchase on the desk.

"You heard the lady," Albus said quietly, trying not to attract the librarian's attention. She wasn't a fan of Albus; apparently his father used to write in books. Trust Madame Pince to maintain a petty grudge against the war hero Harry Potter. "Come along, Scor. Quidditch pitch is free. Let's get out of this place. All these books are going to bring me out in a rash. No offence, Rose."

Well, Scorpius never needed to be told twice. He ruffled Rose's hair, and left her to it, taking care to scatter her work in the process.

"You get your Charms homework done?" Albus asked, swinging his bag so it knocked into Scorpius.

Scorpius glanced back at the redhead bent over her books. He snorted when he realised her papers were back in order but her hair was still in disarray. Weasley's priorities weren't exactly your average teenage girl's priorities. "Something like that. Let me grab my broom, and I'll meet you down there."

Albus scoffed. "Right, after you waste half an hour of decent light so you can fiddle with that excuse for hair you have. I already got your broom." He waggled his eyebrows at Scorpius, seeing the incredulous look on his friend's face. "We Potters have ways and means of getting what we want."

Which meant Lily had been through his stuff again. Great. He just hoped that she hadn't transferred his boxers to the first year girls' bedroom - that had been embarrassing enough the first time. Or turned his robes pink. She wasn't the most subtle Slytherin he had ever encountered.

Sure enough, Albus's sister was leaning against the Quidditch stands, three brooms by her side, already dressed in her Quidditch gear. "Sorry, Malfoy," she said, not sounding at all apologetic. "I couldn't find your training stuff anywhere. I borrowed Bulstrode's robes; they'll probably fit."

"Barnaby's?" he asked, though he didn't know why he bothered when he was well aware they wouldn't be. He knew his training gear had been piled neatly at the top of his trunk. Merlin knew where it was now.

"Lucretia's." She threw them at him, though since he made no effort to catch them, they hit his chest and fell to the ground. "She got pretty excited by the idea, actually. She might never wash them again after this. Although..." Lily peered down at the bundle at Scorpius's feet. "If I'm honest, I'm not sure how often she washed them to begin with."

Albus was making no effort to hide his snickering. Scorpius spared him a scornful glance. "Thanks, Potter. I think I'll fly in my school robes."

Lily shrugged in a suit-yourself manner, and took off on her broom.

"Why are you the only bearable one in your family?" Scorpius grumbled to Albus, safe to comment now Lily was out of earshot. He reached for his own broom, grateful that at least Lily had relented on that front, although the reprieve was probably because they were on the same Quidditch team.

Albus looked amused, most likely remembering the first year or so of school, before the two of them had put aside their house differences and bonded during Potions over a mutual appreciation of the more outlandish Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. It was true Scorpius hadn't been able to stand Albus either back then. Every friendship had to start somewhere. " _Am_ I the only one? Why is it that half the time when I'm trying to find you, you seem to be with Rose? Especially when you have a girlfriend. Who is not, in case you weren't aware, Rose."

Scorpius grinned, unperturbed by his friend's goading. It was not, after all, the first time that he had heard it, and Scorpius was not so quick to rise to a bait like that. "Aw, Al. If you're trying to get a date for your cousin, you're going about it the wrong way." He ducked Albus's broomstick, holding his hands up in surrender. "Firstly, you're exaggerating. Secondly, I can't help it. She's so easy - to wind up," he added hastily, noting Albus's unimpressed expression. "Easy to wind up. April gets it, anyway. She doesn't mind."

"Whatever," Albus said, not looking convinced. "I didn't get you out here so you could chat about your weird fixation with my cousin. Let's get going, or it'll be too dark to fly."

\--

It was a good flying session, and Scorpius was both satisfied and exhausted when he and Lily headed back to their common room together. He liked flying with Albus, even if it did get him in trouble with his team-mates from time to time, for practising with the 'enemy'. Lily never seemed to come in for the same criticisms, though maybe it was because as Chaser, she didn't have much to do with the Seekers. Or maybe they were scared of her. Scorpius couldn't blame them if that were the case.

(Scorpius's father had smirked when Scorpius had told him that Albus and Scorpius would be opposing Seekers for Gryffindor and Slytherin respectively, and called it history repeating itself. He ceased saying that after the two became friends, and now looked mildly disgusted instead whenever the subject was broached)

"Any chance you want to let me know what you've done to my dormitory this time?" It was worth enquiring, Scorpius figured. At least Lily would know he was onto her. Not that he expected her to _care_. He'd give the contents of his Gringotts account to the person who could make Lily change her ways. Some of the contents, anyway.

Lily grinned up at him, and Scorpius could kind of see why the lower years (and some of his year) were mad for this girl. "Absolutely nothing," she answered sweetly. "Darling Scorpius, you know I would never want to cause you any pain or discomfort."

Scorpius stopped in his tracks. _That_ was new.

"Do I?" he asked cautiously, folding his arms across his chest. "Because from where I'm standing, that seems to be your M.O."

Lily batted her eyes at him, and took a step closer. Instinctively, he took a step back. "Oh, _Scorpius_. You've got me all wrong." She reached up, and - and put her arms around him.

Scorpius tensed. "What are you doing?"

"Giving you a hug," Lily said, not letting go. If anything, her arms tightened around him. This must be what being hugged by the Giant Squid would be like, albeit less slimy. "Enjoy it. It's happening."

It was impossible to relax when he couldn't shake the feeling that Lily was up to something. Nevertheless, it was apparent she wasn't going to let go on her own, so he uncrossed his arms (with some difficulty), intending to untangle her.

"Malfoy!"

He knew that voice. He winced, and Lily slipped away. "Oops," she said, winking at him as she left.

"Lily _Potter_?" April spluttered.

"We were just flying together, that's all," Scorpius said tiredly. He should have guessed Lily had something like this planned. Chaos was exactly the kind of thing in which she delighted.

"Oh, I see," April snapped at him, showing none of her usual composure. Scorpius wondered if there would be time to get her into a private classroom before the fight erupted, or whether he had to let it unfold here in the corridor. He glanced up at her face, and quailed. On second thoughts, the corridor would be fine. "How convenient - just flying with Lily effing Potter when you and I had study arrangements." He started; he had forgotten all about it. "Oh, _now_ you remember your girlfriend. Seems like you didn't earlier, when you were studying with _Rose effing Weasley_."

Scorpius held his hands up in surrender, hoping to placate her. "Okay, April, I'm sorry. Today slipped my mind - Albus asked me to go flying - yes, yes, Albus effing Potter, I know. I'll make it up to you."

Her face wavered. They had been on and off for the best part of three years, and Scorpius knew from experience that he had a lot of grovelling in his future. Then, she shook her head. "Scorpius, no. I think we're done this time. My OWLs are this year; I need to be studying, not chasing around the castle finding out which girl you've been spending all your time with now. Not everyone has your memory, and aversion to notes. I obviously can't trust you. And you still don't want to make me a priority. Not even above the effing Weasleys."

"I-"

She cut across him again. "No. I'm sorry, Scorpius. You don't know how to be a good boyfriend, and I can't deal with it right now. We're through."

\--

"'We're through'? That's it?"

Scorpius sighed. It was the third time Barnaby had repeated April's parting words. Scorpius hadn't really liked them from April the first time. If you asked Scorpius, Slytherins like Barnaby were why he spent so much time with the Potters. Well, the younger Potters; all the Barnabys in the world couldn't induce Scorpius to spend time with James Potter. Time with Lily Potter was really non-negotiable, it seemed. "That's right."

"You should dump her, then."

It was tempting to fling his forkful of egg in Barnaby's direction, but Scorpius opted to eat it instead. "Too late," he said around the mouthful, "She already dumped _me_."

"Well, get her back, and _then_ dump her." Barnaby shrugged, returning to his cereal. Clearly, he was no longer even half-listening. Not that he'd been any help to begin with.

"It's not a bad idea," Francis Nott mused, on his other side. Scorpius blinked at him; Nott was usually more sensible than this. "You've done this whole split up charade before. Just pick a girl, date her, be nice to her so that April knows you know how to be a 'nice boyfriend'-" Sarcasm dripped from the latter two words "-and take up with April again when she starts looking for a distraction from studying. Knowing her, that'll probably happen next week."

Scorpius rubbed his chin, looking down the table at April. She was chatting away with her friends, but he could tell that she was sneaking looks down the table at him, too. He'd heard worse ideas (mostly from Barnaby). And April did get tired of studying quickly, so this might be a good way to channel his energies until she softened towards him again. He'd tried approaching her too soon after a fight before, and although Madam Longbottom promised his skull was still the same shape, he wasn't quite so sure. "Okay. S'pose I've got nothing to lose. Which girl do you think I should pick?"

Francis shook his head, waving his toast in Scorpius's face. "Oh, no. I genuinely couldn't care less about all your rubbish. I just don't want to be stuck listening to the same refrain every day at breakfast this week. You leave me out of this."

Which was how Scorpius found himself pouring out the problem to Albus in an empty Charms classroom during their free period before lunch. He was sitting on the edge of his desk, swinging his legs back and forth, staring at the blackboard ahead. Albus had raised a point that honestly hadn't occurred to him before - did he actually want April back, or was it best to cut his losses? He supposed that was something he could figure out later, if Nott's plan worked. "Do you think it's a good idea?"

Albus shrugged. "I dunno, mate. Seems to me that if she doesn't want to be with you, you should take no for an answer, rather than involving some poor other girl. I mean, it's not likely because it's _you_ , but what if the other girl falls in love with you? What are you going to do then?"

Scorpius tried very hard not to roll his eyes, leaning back onto his elbows. This was the culmination of asking Gryffindors for advice. How he wished that Albus were a Slytherin. None of his other friends were troubled by morals.

"But," Albus added suddenly, and the light in his eyes made Scorpius sit up. "I guess I _could_ back your plan if the girl knew all about it - and wasn't someone who would fall for you anyway."

"I am _not_ going to date your sister," Scorpius said with a shudder. Lily was going to drive him into an early grave as it was; he didn't need to accelerate the process by dating her.

Albus spluttered, and it took a moment before Scorpius realised he was laughing. "Merlin, no. Not Lily. You couldn't handle her - you _can't_ handle her as it is, let's face it. She would never do it anyway. No, I'm talking about Rose. Now, hear me out. You said that April was jealous of you spending time with Rose. She'd be perfect for it. Look, I'd really like you guys to get along. I don't want to have to keep dividing my time between you because I'm worried one of you will bite the other's head off. If you put a little effort in, I think you'd be surprised. And she's more book- than boy-orientated, so we don't have to worry about her falling in love with you." Albus glanced at Scorpius. "But Rose has more sense than that anyway."

"What makes you think Rose would be any more likely to do it than Lily?" Scorpius asked reluctantly. Much as he liked to believe in his own abilities, it did seem a bit of a leap that he'd be able to win Rose around. Not when he couldn't persuade her in fictional life-or-death scenarios. Albus was right about one thing, though - April wouldn't like it if he started 'dating' Rose. Trouble was, Scorpius wasn't sure quite how much he was going to like it, either.

"Leave Rose to me," Albus answered, leaning back in his chair. "Did you finish that Defence essay yet? I've still got another foot or so to go on mine."

"You can copy mine," Scorpius said magnanimously. "Can I borrow your Care of Magical Creatures notes?"

Albus frowned at him. "What? You never ask to borrow my notes. You told me I write like a chicken."

"You _do_ write like a chicken. I still need your notes. C'mon. Essay for notes." 

"Right now, it's sounding more like essay for notes _and my cousin_ ," Albus pointed out, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm going to need a little more incentive."

Scorpius wondered how he could prevent Albus from hanging around his own little sister. It seemed she was having too much influence over him. Perhaps it wouldn't be so good if Albus were in Slytherin after all. "Actually, it's more like goodwill, Rose and I getting along, _and_ essay versus notes and a word in your cousin's ear." He ticked the points off on his fingers. "Three against two. Seems like the scales are unbalanced, so I'm also going to need you to throw the next Quidditch game."

Albus snorted. "Okay, sure. Did you want me to hand you the Cup, too? I can see why you'd need to cheat in order to beat me."

"Fine, don't throw the game, then. I'll be getting that Cup either way," Scorpius declared. "Right. I'll get my essay, you get your chicken scratchings and your cousin. Meet you in the library by the bookworm."

"Be nice, Scorpius," Albus said warningly, getting to his feet. "You know I'll set my sister on you if you're not nice."

"When am I not - okay, okay. I get it. I'll meet you by Weas- I mean, _Rose's_ desk."

Albus rolled his eyes. "Scor, I'll need you to give me a good foundation before I talk to Rose. If you can't be civil to her for an hour, I doubt she's going to go for it no matter what I say to her. And you need to remember that my cousin is very special to me, so you mess her around, and you answer to me."

Scorpius was inclined to laugh at that, but something in the set of Albus's jaw quelled the notion. Probably something connected with the fact that Albus's family was full of heroes (plus Hogwarts was full of Albus's family), and that Scorpius came from a long line of cowards. In keeping with proud Malfoy tradition, he merely agreed.

"Then we're settled. I give you Rose - er, so long as she is willing - and you give me your Charms notes for the rest of the year."

Scorpius really did laugh, then. "You drive a hard bargain, Potter. Rest of the term."

"Good enough," Albus said, and winked, the solemn expression of a few minutes ago gone. "Commencing Operation Get Scorpius a Girlfriend."

"You can't call it that," Scorpius protested.

Albus grinned, swinging his bag and managing to whack Scorpius with it again. "Oh, don't worry. That's only the short title. The full version is 'Operation Get Scorpius a Girlfriend (because frankly he needs all the help he can get)'." 

He scarpered before Scorpius had a chance to thump him.


	2. It's Celestina Warbeck's Fault, Really

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for comments/kudos. Also, many thanks to Lisa - beta/sounding board/long-suffering friend.

"Do you mind if I have this seat?"

"Why would I mind? I don't own it," Rose answered, making a note of the properties of a Draught of Living Death. "I imagine Madame Pince will have something to say if you turn one of the library chairs into a Malfoy throne, though."

Roxanne sniggered, setting down her quill in anticipation of a Malfoy-Weasley battle. Rose ignored her, hoping that Scorpius would take the hint and leave. She didn't want the distraction today - and she really, really didn't want her library privileges suspended again.

"Sure, Scor," Albus said enthusiastically from Rose's other side. "I don't suppose you'd let me borrow your Defence essay? Rose is hoarding hers."

"You'll never learn otherwise," Rose said absently, unaware that her cousins were mouthing her words as she spoke. "Roxanne, do you know what-"

Roxanne laid a hand on Rose's arm. "Oh, Rosie. I could tell you, but how would you ever learn?"

"The time is?" Rose finished, glaring at her cousin.

"Quarter past twelve," Scorpius supplied helpfully, sliding into the spare seat. "Here, Al, I've got the essay on me. You wouldn't happen to have your Care of Magical Creatures notes on you, would you?"

Roxanne was looking from Scorpius to Albus with narrowed eyes. "You're being weird," she accused. Albus passed his notes across silently, darting a look at Rose. The latter had immersed herself in her work once more, however.

Time progressed as Rose had planned; quietly, until Roxanne left her seat in search of a book. Immediately, or so it seemed, the space was filled by Scorpius. Who had, apparently, taken it upon himself to read her essay over her shoulder. "Are you sure you should be referencing Chalmers there?" he whispered, pointing at her parchment. "Professor Tomkins is more partial to Malone's theories of potion making."

"Professor Tomkins is wrong," Rose snapped out, forgetting to lower her voice. Albus shushed her, and she scowled at him, but continued in a softer tone. "I won't compromise my essay for his preferences."

"Well, excuse me for trying to help. Didn't know that you liked getting Es in Potions," Scorpius hissed back.

Rose reeled momentarily - she _had_ received an E for her last Potions essay, but how could Scorpius have known that? "There's nothing wrong with Es," she ground out, doing serious damage to the nib of her quill as she pressed it into the parchment. He was probably right about Malone over Chalmers. How could she change it without conceding the point?

"Whatever you say," Scorpius answered airily. "I really couldn't comment - I'm used to Os myself."

Briefly, Rose envisioned what it would be like to hurl her inkwell at Scorpius. She must have spent too long thinking about the ink splattering over his fair hair; he was giving her a confused look. She felt her face heat up, and returned to her work again. Except now, Chalmers's name was taunting her on the page. Would it be the difference between an O and an E? Maybe she should go to talk to Professor Tomkins, but he was never very receptive to Rose's attempts to discuss additional reading material with him.

"You know I'm right," Scorpius murmured smugly in her ear. She did her best not to squirm, finding his breath ticklish.

Instead, she chose to elbow him in the stomach.

He doubled over, groaning in pain, and at that same moment, Roxanne arrived back, and tipped him out of her seat. Unfortunately, he landed on the floor with a thud, which summoned Madame Pince.

"Right," she said, eyes glittering. "You again. Fighting _again_. My library is not a duelling club, young Weasleys. The four of you are banned until further notice."

Rose's eyes rounded. "He fell out of his chair!" she exclaimed, pointing at Scorpius. Roxanne's hands (which had been holding the back of said chair) flew behind her back, as though that made the scenario less incriminating. "We were just debating the finer points of-"

"Out," Madame Pince instructed, in a tone that brooked no discussion. "Now."

Dejectedly, Rose picked up her books and began cramming them in her bag. She would have to explain to her mother _again_ how she had managed to get banned from the library _again_. Fortunately, there was a Hogsmeade weekend coming up, and she could use her time browsing in the bookshop there. Maybe her father would bring some of her mother's books up, so she wouldn't fall behind in her extra reading. Uncle Neville would probably give her written permission to take books out of the library, if she knew the books she wanted ahead of time. He'd done it before, after all.

"Al, I'm sorry," Scorpius said, the moment that the group were outside the library.

That made Rose feel wretched - Albus was only guilty by association. "Oh, Al. Do you want any help with your work? I guess we'll have to set up another study group."

Albus shrugged. "She just wanted an excuse to ban me," he replied, looking unconcerned. "Scor and I were, er, passing the Charms classroom earlier, and it looked pretty empty - we could go in there now."

Rose and Roxanne shared a look. It was obvious that Albus meant the four of them, but neither of the girls wanted Scorpius included.

"Oh, come _on_ ," Albus said, guessing the reason behind the girls' hesitation. "You elbowed him in the stomach, tipped him out of his seat-"

"My seat," Roxanne corrected.

"And got him banned from the library indefinitely. Scor, I'm sorry for introducing you to ruffians like these two."

Rose experienced a mild pang of guilt. There might be some truth to Albus's statements. Whatever she thought of Scorpius, there was no excuse for ganging up on him. "I'm sorry, Malfoy."

He grinned at her, and the guilt shrank. In its place came indignation. "That's okay, Weasley. I know you girls find it hard to keep your hands off me."

Unfortunately, Albus held her back, before the thought of slapping him had so much as crossed her mind. Scorpius's grin widened, and she struggled. "Get _off_ me, Albus Severus," she snapped.

"Roxy, Scor, why don't you head on and start studying?" Albus suggested calmly. He did not, to her chagrin, release Rose. The two glanced at her, and then glanced at each other much less enthusiastically, before heading off down the corridor to the Charms classroom. Once they were a fair distance away, Albus relinquished his hold.

She rubbed her arms, though they didn't really hurt. What hurt more was the fact that her cousin had thought her capable of attacking Scorpius - it was hardly her fault if he provoked her!

"Say, Rose," Albus began, collecting both their schoolbags from the floor. She fixed him with a sharp look; Albus was terrible at feigning a casual air. This reeked of - well, something, anyway. There was definitely _something_ rotten in the state of Hogwarts. "What do you think of Scorpius?"

Was this a trick? "I do _not_ have a problem keeping my hands off Malfoy!" she exclaimed.

Albus had trouble hiding his grin. He started ambling away from the library, in the direction Roxanne and Scorpius had gone. "That's not really what I mean. Well, I guess it is. Would you date him?"

Had the world gone mad, or was it just Albus? Rose gaped at him. "Al, I can promise you that I will _never_ date Scorpius Malfoy. He's rude, he's obnoxious, he got me banned from the library _again_ -"

"Actually, you were the one who got him banned this time," Albus reminded her helpfully. They came to a stop by an alcove, and he leaned against the wall there. "He's clever, you know. Probably almost as clever as you."

Rose made a dismissive noise. "Malfoy is so lazy that it cancels out any brains he might have. I swear I haven't seen him make notes in class for two years. It's a wonder he passed his OWLs. Get to the point, Albus. I think I need to entirely review the argument I put forward in my Potions essay." Okay, okay, that was because of the point Malfoy himself had made. That didn't prove anything.

"Would you date Scorpius if I asked you to?"

Rose raised her eyebrows, the Potions essay driven out of her mind. "Now why would you be asking me to do something like that?"

Albus spouted some absolute nonsense about Scorpius's girlfriend breaking up with him (good for her) and Scorpius wanting to get her back. That, apparently, was where Rose came in.

"The castle is full of gullible girls who might fall for your scheme," Rose said dryly. "It sounds like Scorpius's girlfriend doesn't like you any more than she likes me. Why don't you pretend to be his boyfriend? I'd say it's got as good a chance of working as anything. At least you actually like each other."

"The point is not getting Scorpius's girlfriend back," Albus answered. "I couldn't care less whether she dates him or not. I want you to spend time with him. Don't pull that face, Rosie. I really, really think that if you guys spent some time together, you'd get along. And then we could all hang out. Please? For me? He's willing. You know, he likes you - if only you'd give him a chance."

Albus's pleading eyes were almost enough to convince her. Almost. But it was _Malfoy_. "Al," Rose groaned, dragging her cousin's name out. "It's too much. I can't. I can't even sit at the same table as him without something awful happening."

"I didn't want to have to do this, Rose." Albus took in a deep breath. "You know Nana's old wireless."

Rose's eyes went wide. "I have no idea what happened to Nana's wireless," she recited, sounding mechanical.

"Well, I do. And, Rose, if you don't do this for me... I'll have to tell Nana it was you. My conscience is eating away at me." Albus held a hand over his heart.

"I'll bet," Rose muttered sourly. "Will you tell her it was Lily's idea?"

"Lily has no idea what happened to Nana's wireless," Albus said, and winked at Rose.

Oh, great. That was how things were going to go down. "One month. I'll pretend to date your foul friend for up to one month, and my involvement or lack thereof with Nana's old wireless goes with you to your grave," Rose said levelly, pointing at Albus.

"Three months. If necessary," Albus proposed.

"Two. And your grave. I mean it, Potter. You never threaten me with this again."

"Never," Albus promised, slinging an arm around her shoulders, and steering her down the corridor once more. "If we hurry, we've still got a good half hour before lunch. Think of all the help you could give me in that time."

Rose laughed, despite herself. "You're delusional. Delusion Al."

"Very funny, Rosie Dozy," Albus muttered, pushing the door to the classroom open with his free hand. Roxanne and Scorpius were inside in silence, sitting several desks apart. Rose picked the desk next to Roxanne, and pulled out her books.

It was hard to concentrate after that; Albus had driven away any previous inclination to work. Rose abandoned her Potions essay in favour of drawing up a list of rules for Scorpius. If she were going to do this thing, she wanted to do it properly.

It didn't help that Scorpius kept looking at her. She guessed it was because he knew Albus would have spoken to her and he was trying to gauge her reaction, but she really wished he'd keep his eyes on his own work. He was so _distracting_.

"Rose, what did you write about non-verbal charms?" 

"They're useful if you've lost your voice," Rose responded, wondering if 'we only spend an hour together per week' was an unreasonable rule. Maybe she could try for half an hour first, and progress from there. If necessary. Was it enough to let him tell people they were dating? Surely she could say yes if people asked her, and that could be the end of it. Of course, then they wouldn't be achieving Albus's civility goal, but that was only ever going to be a pipe dream.

"That's all you wrote?" Roxanne asked sceptically. "Well, at least I won't get the worst mark in class."

Rose snapped to attention at that. "Sorry. I was miles away." She caught Scorpius's smirk out of the corner of her eye. Was this really going to be worse than Nana finding out that Rose had been the one to destroy her wireless? She sighed. Yes, because this at least would be over in two months. Or sooner, if Scorpius got back with his girlfriend sooner. Nana would never forget who ruined her wireless, especially because Rose had lied to her about it. Not to mention that she'd have to suffer the disappointment of all the adults, bar Aunt Fleur. Aunt Fleur would probably buy her a new wardrobe. "Non-verbal spells are useful for the element of surprise, but they lack the power of a verbal spell."

"Are all non-verbal spells equally less powerful?" Scorpius asked. "Or does it vary from attack, defence, transfiguration...?"

Rose propped her chin up with her hands, staring at him but not really seeing him. How she wished she could look it up. "Atkinson says the strength of the spell depends on the caster," she responded. "I suppose it would vary according to their aptitude for a certain type of magic."

"I guess wizards are too variable for an actual study, although I'm sure you could work around it somehow," Scorpius mused. He was beginning to look unnerved under Rose's gaze; she shook herself, and returned her eyes to her page. Maybe she could handle an hour a week with him.

At that moment, her book floated off the table. She blinked at it, surprised, and then spied Scorpius with his wand out. Fine. Two could play at that game.

She whipped out her own wand, and Scorpius's desk began shrinking. He'd been leaning an elbow on it, grinning at her, and nearly toppled over as he lost his support. Her book crashed back down, missing her head by an inch. "Malfoy!" she exclaimed, stunned at how close she'd been to death-by-textbook.

"You made me lose my concentration," he snapped back. "That wouldn't have happened if you hadn't shrunk my bloody desk. _Engorgio_."

"Children, children," Albus said wearily. "Roxy, let's go to lunch before we get caught in the firing line. These two can sort out their differences here." He collected his bag, and handed back Scorpius's Defence essay. "If anybody comes to lunch missing limbs or having turned a funny colour, I'm going to be very unhappy."

"Your desk is bigger than the others," Rose pointed out as her cousins left the room.

Scorpius shrugged. "At least it's fit for more than pixies now." He paused, resuming his previous pose of leaning against the desk, minus the wand. The nonchalant air felt rather more studied now, and she was aware that he was eyeing her carefully. "I take it Al spoke to you?"

Rose toyed with the idea of saying no, and making Scorpius explain it himself. Then, she relented. If she were going to have to get along with him for two months, she might as well start now. "Yes."

"And?"

"And he had sufficient blackmail material on me," Rose answered. "Here. I wrote out a list of rules."

Scorpius took the sheaf of parchment with raised eyebrows. "No touching? Weasley, no one will believe we're dating if I don't _touch_ you."

"Limited touching," Rose conceded, aware that her cheeks were beginning to heat up. She pressed her hand against one, willing it to cool down before he noticed.

"An hour a week together? No discussion of Quid- wait, no kissing? Weasley, have you ever dated anyone?"

"Yes," Rose mumbled, refusing to look at him. She was worried that she would try to punch him if she did, and that would contravene rule #13. This was all Celestina Warbeck's fault.

He took his quill out, dipped it in her inkwell, and hunched over the parchment, blocking her view. After a minute or so, he got to his feet, standing over her as he handed the page back to her.

All her rules had been crossed out.

"Malfoy," she ground out, rising to her feet in indignation.

"They're all stupid, Weasel." He slipped an arm around her shoulders, fingers tightening when she tried to wriggle free. "Here are _my_ rules. You pretend that you actually like me - it shouldn't be hard. We spend time together, mostly in this little study group. We try not to kill each other." He tapped her lightly on the nose. "How does that sound?"

 _Repulsive_ , Rose thought. "No open mouth kissing," she said, instead. "No inappropriate touching. No telling people or otherwise insinuating that we're sleeping together - because we're not, and we won't. If you're not back with the girl by the end of two months, I choose how and when to break up with you."

"Two months? That's-"

"The deal," Rose said evenly. "Take it or leave it. Obviously, I'd prefer that you left it." When there was no response, she asked, "Why are you doing this? Surely it would be best to give her some space. If she finds out about this, it's just going to upset her further."

Scorpius shrugged. "She's getting space. If she's not interested, this won't bother her at all. This is simply a nudge in the right direction. I think. I hope."

"You're an idiot," Rose said, with no real heat. "I hope your scheme falls flat on its backside."

He turned to her, and now they were face to face, Rose was very aware of him - the height difference, the way his eyes crinkled at the corners in amusement. He leaned over her, and she instinctively grappled for the desk to support herself. Probably, he knew what effect he was having on her, because he laughed. "That's just because you want me all to yourself for two months, Weasel."

"No calling me Weasel," she said hoarsely. _Rules, yes, get back to rules, Rose._

Thankfully, Scorpius pulled away from her then. She fumbled for her books, suddenly eager to keep herself occupied. "Whatever you say, my little stoat. Want to hold hands on the way to the Dining Hall?"

If only looks could kill. 

He grinned, obviously not having expected a verbal response, and waited whilst she packed up her things. "Hurry up, darling. The first thing you should know about me is that I like my food like I like my women." He winked at her. "Hot."

For a moment, Rose weighted her textbooks in her hand, and then decided she probably shouldn't throw them at him. "You can carry my bag, Malfoy." She silently reversed the spell that lightened her books, and smiled at him as she handed it over. "Let's get this over with."


	3. Smart Martens

"What did you do to Rose Weasley? She looks like she's completely head over heels for you."

Scorpius's head shot up, and he scanned the Ravenclaw table until he found Rose, who was glaring at him. "Some of us just have that knack," he said dryly, waving at his faux-girlfriend.

"Seems you made her angrier," Francis sniggered. "Whatever made you pick _her_? I reckon she'd rather kill you than kiss you. Don't get me wrong; as a spectator, I'm undeniably thrilled."

"Temporary insanity." Scorpius sighed, and took another sip of juice, trying to ignore Barnaby practically licking his plate to Scorpius's right. "Don't worry. She's only contractually obliged for two months."

When there was no response from his yearmate, Scorpius turned, finding Francis's mouth hanging open. "Two months? Mate. I'd start planning your funeral now. There is no way you're going to come out of this alive."

Unfortunately, he was probably right. Scorpius had rushed headlong into this plot, assuming any girl would fit his purpose. He hadn't even given himself breathing space between Al's suggestion, and planning how to convince Rose. Gryffindor thinking (or lack thereof) was infectious. If he had only gone to lunch in between, Francis would have talked him round. Maybe Scorpius's own brain would even have intervened at some point. He did have a strong survival instinct, after all. This scheme was pure lunacy. Not only was Rose going to eat him for breakfast, April would never believe they were dating. He was risking his neck for nothing.

It was his own fault, too, for relishing in embarrassing Rose by entering the Dining Hall together. He hadn't even thought of the repercussions he would suffer, or the fact that he was now definitely stuck with dating her. The rocks with which she had apparently filled her bag (that girl must have the biceps of a troll wrestler, carrying a weight like that all day) had gone and drained all the sense from his head. 

And now his table wouldn't stop talking about Rose.

"Honestly, if this little scheme of yours means I have to spend time with a dirty little _Weasley_ -"

"Funnily enough, 'this little scheme of mine' _which you came up with_ doesn't involve you at all," Scorpius snapped, suddenly frustrated. "Just eat, Nott. Nobody cares that you don't like the Weasleys."

"And you do, I suppose?" Francis enquired, his tone sharp. Even Barnaby looked up from his plate at that. "Little Scorpius Malfoy, closet Weasley fan. Is that why you spend so much time around Albus Potter? All this time, we thought you were on your knees for Potter's autograph - didn't know it was his mum you were hoping to f-"

Scorpius stood up, intending to leave, and then wavered. Sitting with Albus was out of the question, because it meant being surrounded by Gryffindors. He didn't want to sit at the end of the Slytherin table on his own. Normally, he would have headed for April's part of the table, if they hadn't already been sitting together. That was the trouble; no girlfriend meant he had to listen to Nott during mealtimes. 

But wait - he _did_ have a girlfriend. Or, at least, he had a fake one. It was better than nothing.

Rose looked unsurprisingly displeased when he sat down next to her.

"Bugger off, Malfoy," she said, by way of acknowledgement. He didn't blame her; there wasn't much room, so he was uncomfortably wedged between her and one of the Ravenclaw Beaters. Neither moved to accommodate Scorpius.

"That's how you're going to greet your boyfriend?" he asked, tilting his head on one side. The girl across from him actually gasped. This sort of thing was definitely more fun on Rose's turf.

Rose gave him a look, the sort his mother had perfected. It must be a knack girls had; Scorpius had tried to muster the necessary scorn, but it never worked the same, for some reason. Maybe the mirror hadn't been the best place to try. "I don't have to greet you. We were together ten minutes ago, and since then, you've just been sitting across the room."

He grinned, a little smug, and reached for her fork, which she had released in her haste to spurn him. "Yes. I saw you couldn't take your eyes off me." He took advantage of her indignation to spear some chicken onto the utensil.

"That's my fork," Rose informed him. "Get your own. Better yet, go back to where you were sitting, at your own table."

"Can't," Scorpius said around the mouthful of food. "I missed you too much."

"Rose." The girl across the table leaned over, putting her elbow on her plate. Scorpius thought about informing her, but then reasoned she would figure it out soon enough herself. She was a Ravenclaw, after all. "You _can't_ tell me you've taken leave of your senses and-"

Rose wrestled her fork out of Scorpius's hand. "Apparently so. He was endearing earlier. Like a puppy. Don't know what I was thinking now."

"My puppy steals food all the time," the Beater piped up. Scorpius blinked; he didn't think he'd ever heard the boy speak before. "And he also suffers from separation anxiety. I think the puppy simile remains applicable."

Rose smiled then, and Scorpius felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. He should probably have stayed at his own table. Antagonising Rose when she was alone was one thing, but now she had support. "Max, how do you get your puppy to behave?" She threw Scorpius a merry glance. "It appears I could use some tips."

"You could feed me treats," Scorpius put in hastily, eager that the brute of a Beater didn't take a hand in his disciplining, since he wasn't quite sure how far Rose would take it. "I strongly support the theory of good behaviour engineered by positive reinforcement." He winked at Rose, and was amused to see her shudder. He liked that she was the sort of girl who wore her heart on her sleeve; it made teasing her that much more fun. "I think I'd take well to being petted, too."

"I believe you'd have to behave yourself in the first instance to warrant a reward," the girl across the table (what was her name? Faith? Patience? Some form of a virtue, he thought) said dryly. "There has to be good behaviour to reinforce." She had finally noticed her elbow had landed in the remnants of her food. Of course, disappointingly for Scorpius, the matter was resolved with a quick spell, with none of the squeals that would have been involved had the same event occurred on the Slytherin table. Ravenclaws were so serious.

As though to prove his point, the three surrounding him subsequently launched into an intense discussion on the merits and disadvantages of dropping subjects for NEWTS. Scorpius attempted briefly to follow it, but honestly, they had been at school for a month already. Five subjects were enough for him, and he considered the trio to be unstable for opting to undertake more. Why would you do more than you had to? Barnaby was taking only three subjects, and had it not been for the thought of what his father might say, Scorpius would seriously have considered following suit.

His attention drifted, and he looked up towards his own table, his eyes settling on April. Her friend Colleen nudged her as she noticed Scorpius's gaze. April frowned at him, and mouthed something that he didn't catch. He shrugged at her unhelpfully. She would understand that he hadn't been able to bear Nott's company for long; it had happened often enough over their three year relationship. Most of their make-ups had been prompted by his dorm-mates' behaviour.

"Scorpius, what do you think?" the virtuously-named girl probed.

"I wasn't listening," he admitted, startled that he'd been addressed.

Rose gave him a knowing look. "Grace-" Ah, of course. Elbow-in-food girl was called Grace. Maybe her parents had a sense of irony, or perhaps her personality had rebelled against her name. "-likes canvassing for opinions, that's all. You know, Scorpius, actually, I have to say I'm surprised you're taking five NEWTS. I thought you didn't consider hard work to be in your best interests."

Scorpius suppressed a grin. He was reasonably sure that Rose was quoting him verbatim from their Herbology group project in fifth year. She'd ended up taking the brunt of the work, and they had both received the credit for it. She hadn't been too happy about it at the time. Longbottom always had favoured her, though - she'd started off with an advantage regardless of how much Scorpius had allegedly 'dragged her down'. Fortunately, he was saved from a response (which would have gone along the lines of "my father made me do it") when a hand tapped on his shoulder. He turned to find April.

"Can I speak with you for a moment?"

"Obviously you _can_ ," Grace interjected. The appearance of his ex-girlfriend appeared to have riled the other girl, for some reason. April had told him that sometimes, girls were just like that. He accepted it, finding the minds of girls too difficult to fathom himself. "Whether you _may-_ "

"Shush, Grace," interrupted Rose, her voice uncharacteristically soft. April was determinedly not looking at her. "Go on, Scorpius. Take as long as you need."

He climbed out of the seat awkwardly, trying his best not to lean on either Rose or her Beater friend, and not succeeding. They exited the Great Hall silently, and Scorpius thought these might be the most uncomfortable minutes of his life. Had the plan worked _already_? Maybe he should make up with Nott - the success of his suggestion like this warranted a bottle of Firewhiskey, at least. He knew two months had been severely underestimating him. How typical of Rose.

April's eyes were overly bright. "So - Rose Weasley. I guess it's true, then?"

Scorpius gave a non-committal half-nod. This wasn't quite the reaction he'd anticipated.

"Not even a full day after we've broken up?" she burst out, her voice thick with tears.

Oh, Merlin. He hadn't even _thought_ about that. It turned his foolish little plan into something altogether more cunning and selfish - something that ran a little too close to cheating for comfort. He supposed he hadn't considered it because he wasn't really starting anything with Rose.

"April, I'm sorry - it doesn't mean-" Scorpius stopped, running a hand through his hair. He wasn't quite sure how to proceed. If he told her it didn't mean anything, that negated the whole relationship and any 'good boyfriend' behaviour he might exhibit. If he told her it meant something, she would take it personally. Obviously. "It's not serious. We talked this morning, and thought we'd see how things went. She isn't you," he finished, swallowing hard. It might be enough. Just.

It _was_ enough to start the tears. Girls crying made him (understandably) nervous, and his arms hung uselessly by his side. Were you allowed to hug ex-girlfriends? Were there rules about this kind of thing?

After a moment or two passed (with the tears not reducing in quantity, and students beginning to leave the Great Hall), Scorpius folded his arms around her. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I didn't think."

"Tell me something I don't know," April said, wiping at her eyes. "I like you, Scorpius, I honestly do. But you never do seem to think about me."

"Maybe we could try being friends?" Scorpius asked hopefully, thinking it might be a good way to show how he was changing.

She pulled away from him, fumbling in her bag and withdrawing a tissue. "Maybe." She smiled at him, without it quite reaching her eyes. "At least now you'll always have your homework done on time."

He made a forced sort of laugh, appreciating April's attempts at cordiality. At the same time, realisation was sinking in that he had essentially set himself up for two months' worth of homework club. The only bright point in that hole of misery was that Rose always held the right answers, if he could only persuade her to give them up.

"Scorpius," Rose said from behind him. "We have Charms now. I picked up your bag for you."

Pain flickered over April's face, and she turned and fled before Scorpius could say anything further. "What did you do that for?" he demanded, rounding on Rose. "We were talking."

"I wasn't saving you from her; I was saving her from you. You were upsetting her," replied Rose, lifting the bag strap over his shoulder. He adjusted it, feeling the bag about to slip off. "Her friends will be better for her than you right now - they're not suddenly thrusting new relationships on her in the middle of the Dining Hall. During lunch, no less, when she's still got half a day of classes to go. How will she concentrate after that?"

Well. That was probably true. Scorpius exhaled, and aimed a kick at the stone wall. "I was stupid. Should have left it more than a day between breaking up with her and - you know." He gestured at her. Was this plan going to work? April didn't look like the kind of girl who was going to fight to get him back. She looked like the kind of girl who wasn't going to speak to him again. He supposed only time would tell, and the nicer he was to Rose, the more likely April would hear about it, and know he was determined to change.

Rose was gaping at him. "You two broke up less than a day ago? _Malfoy_ \- that's low, even for you. What's she going to think of me now?"

"What's she going to think of _me_?" he said glumly, feeling it was the more pertinent point. Rose wasn't still trying to date her.

"She's going to think you're an idiot. I can tell you that it's a popular opinion." Rose patted him on the back, although he wasn't soothed by the gesture. "My dad's shop does a line in 'I'm with Stupid' merchandise. I am tempted to invest in some for the coming two months." She shot him a smile - that made two today from her, even if it was by way of teasing, and very much at his expense. Normally, she let herself get too preoccupied by academia, or certainly she did when Scorpius was around. "People need to be warned." 

He slid an arm around her shoulder as they began to walk to class, but allowed her to work her way free a moment later. "Whatever you want, my ponderous polecat."

A faint note of irritation entered her voice as she said, "When I asked you not to call me Weasel, I didn't intend for that to open up a stream of weasel-related endearments."

"You should have specified that when we were agreeing terms," Scorpius reprimanded, endeavouring to keep the laughter from his voice. April's reaction hadn't been forgotten, but he did at least feel better about himself - probably because he wasn't faced with tears. "Now it's all set in stone."

"You'll run out of weasel-related endearments soon," Rose answered confidently, rummaging through her bag.

He cocked his head on one side. "Perhaps. I wonder if I should open it up to the whole Mustelidae family, really. Or I could stick with one in particular. What do you think, my smart marten?"

"I think you're lucky that I'm already in trouble for getting banned from the library today, and so I won't hex you right now," she muttered, and he could just tell that she was shooting him a dirty look. "But if you sit with me in Charms, so help me, I'll-"

Scorpius crossed his arms over his chest, having stopped outside the classroom. "You'll what, Weasley?" he asked, unable to help a smirk. "What will you do to me in front of a _teacher_? Anyway, _Don't Call Me Weasel_ , Albus and I always sit together in Charms. We'd appreciate it if you didn't crowd us; you never know when somebody is trying to copy your work."

With that, he disappeared inside the room. He was pretty sure her jaw had hit the floor.


	4. Racing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments/kudos :) Many thanks to Lisa/Lisafer for her help!

"Professor Longbottom! I have a question about the essay."

Neville smiled at Rose, even though she made a similar statement nearly every class, and asked that she wait behind so they could go through it.

She liked these moments of Herbology best. Her fellow students stumbled over each other to be the first to leave, and Neville pulled out two armchairs (strangely out of place in the middle of Greenhouse Three, but somehow suiting Neville all the same), and two mugs of hot chocolate.

Sometimes, her questions about the set work would be fabricated, in an attempt to manufacture this exact situation. Rose was close to her parents, and being unable to contact them for months at a time was not always easy. Today, however, marked one week and one day since she had been banned from the library (one week and one day since she had been blackmailed into pretending to date Scorpius Malfoy - seven weeks left, if anybody else was counting).

"Better make this a quick one, Rosie. I've got third year Ravenclaws and Slytherins next." He sighed, shooting a spell at the door, and jumping when it slammed shut. "They make me remember why I used to prefer plants to people."

"I need access to some books," she blurted out, when her uncle sat down. Of course, he wasn't technically family, but he felt more like an uncle than her Uncle Percy, or even her Uncle Charlie - whom she liked well enough, when he was around.

Neville set aside a plant he had evidently been going to show her, and gave her a grave look. He was in teacher-mode, which although not unexpected, did not bode well for Rose. "Are they in the Restricted Section?"

"No - in the normal section," Rose said, blushing furiously. Perhaps she should have asked Grace or Lily to fetch them instead, but Grace was forgetful, and Lily had to be bribed.

In a would-be casual movement, Neville rolled the sleeves up of his robes. It just so happened that this exposed his scarred forearms, and Rose knew the point he was making. Those were the marks of the punishments Neville had received at school - and if Rose were getting herself into trouble, Neville expected her to have a damned good reason for doing so.

The problem was that she didn't. Unless, that is, contributing to Scorpius Malfoy being tipped off his chair was a good reason. She had the sneaking suspicion that Neville wouldn't think so.

"And why, Rosie, do you need my help getting books from the normal section?" 

She blew on her hot chocolate to delay the inevitable. "I got banned." She hesitated, but knew that if she were to get what she wanted, she would have to provide a full confession. "I was - sort of - fighting with Scorpius Malfoy. Mostly not. He fell out of his seat. Loudly."

If Neville hadn't been an adult, Rose thought he might have laughed there. His lips certainly twitched. "For somebody who claims to love the library, you do seem to spend a lot of your time getting yourself banned from it, Rosie." She half-shrugged, but it seemed he didn't expect a verbal response; he continued, "I might consider talking to your head of house for this, but from what I hear, your problems with Scorpius seem to be resolving themselves." 

Neville's eyes were twinkling. Rose put her head in her hands. She wasn't surprised that the news had reached the teachers - James had started a very long and loud argument with her in the Dining Hall on that exact subject two days ago.

"Please don't tell Dad," she entreated, emerging from her hands. Damage control was the best she could hope for in this situation. She had a feeling Neville would not be impressed by the truth. "I just - I don't think it will last very long, and I would much rather tell him myself."

"Oh, I have no intention of being the messenger," Neville chuckled. "I wouldn't wish that on any owl. Be sure to invite me to the wedding, though. Your Aunt Hannah and I do enjoy a good wedding."

Rose shot him a sour look, and took a large gulp of her drink, suddenly eager to be out of the greenhouse. "Do you think you could sign the form for me, Uncle Neville?"

"Only if you promise to apologise fully to Madame Pince," Neville answered, searching for his quill. "She'll be after me next if I overrule her. I don't think she's convinced that I'm not still a student."

\--

"I win!" James shouted exultantly.

Rose thumped her forehead against her desk. She really, really missed the library. Apologising to Madame Pince hadn't done her any good, as it turned out, though Uncle Neville's note had done the trick in getting her the books she'd needed. The quiet study sessions had exploded once the other Weasley-Potters got in on the act (though Rose suspected the only reason James hadn't already been banned from the library was because he rarely went near it). Her Ravenclaw friends had taken one look at her cousins, and left.

Rose couldn't say she blamed them. True, she normally liked to join in her family's Pocket Dragon races, but the spells were wearing off her Chinese Fireball. It tended to just splutter smoke these days, and chased its tail instead of the finish line. Besides, her Runes essay wouldn't finish itself.

"Don't worry," Roxanne said, perching on the edge of Rose's desk. "It's almost time for Quidditch practise. I'll have the troublemakers off your hands soon enough."

"You lost again, then?" Rose guessed, wrinkling her forehead as she tried to remember the correct translations. "I think it'll help if you get off my dictionary."

Roxanne shook her head, her braids whipping out. "No, I don't think your dictionary will help," she said glumly. "No missiles after the Great Easter Disaster, remember? I'll see if Dad can repair Alfie, but he might be on his last legs this time. It's your dad's turn for this Hogsmeade weekend, isn't it? Let's hope Alfie can hang on till Christmas."

"I meant it'll help with my Runes homework," Rose corrected, but Roxanne did not seem to take the hint. "Alfie should have been put out to pasture years ago with my Doris. I'm amazed that Uncle George even managed to keep him going this long."

"Want to take on the champion, Rosie?" James asked, crouching down by her desk. He waggled his eyebrows at her, drawing a giggle. They really didn't get to spend enough time together at Hogwarts, being in different years and different Houses. Since this was James's last year here, there wasn't much time remaining for them to rectify this. Perhaps this library ban was good for something, after all. "I'm sure your old girl is good for one more race."

"James, I have homework!" she protested, though she hadn't written a line in a good five minutes. "And I'm not sure Florence could even handle another race without self-cannibalising."

James snorted, and Albus's face joined his brother's in Rose's line of vision. "C'mon, Rose. I'll lend you Sir Sparks-a-lot. You have the best chance of deflating that fat head of his." He held his Longhorn out to her, which was looking somewhat the worse for wear after a tussle with James's Ironbelly.

"He means you'll be the last one who's lost to James, so he thinks that means James will ease up on him," Hugo announced, from behind his pile of books. He spoke with practised weariness, as the youngest boy in their extended family who was so often the subject of James and Freddie's practical jokes. "He forgets that Rose doesn't play on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, which will make him James's favourite target again as soon as practise starts."

Albus's mouth opened and closed a few times in disbelief. Seeing that he was about to interrupt her brother's study once more (one of them should get something done, and Roxanne wasn't moving off the Runes dictionary), Rose held her hand out for the miniature dragon figure.

James gave a triumphant yell, and whisked Rose out of her seat. She found herself dumped without ceremony at the starting line, Albus's dragon clutched in her palm. Roxanne, who occasionally did Quidditch commentary, appointed herself as referee and commentator. She ignored, with some effort, James's entreaties to "move things the eff along", and set James's dragon back by the starting line. The finish line sparkled at the other side of the classroom, at the end of a path clear of tables and chairs.

Roxanne muttered the activation spell, and the dragons jolted to life, snapping their jaws and unfurling their wings. Rose and James both touched their wands to their respective dragons, binding the dragon to them for the duration of the race. There could be no spells cast on each other's dragons (though interference was permitted. Rose, however, always preferred a clean race).

"Ready - set - go!" Roxanne shouted, and the dragons took off, knocking against one another. Rose's wand wavered - she was allowed only three spells, and didn't want to waste one of them untangling her dragon from James's. She decided a simple speed spell might help, and whispered it quietly, hoping that James would forget the wording. Sir Sparks-a-lot burst ahead of the Ironbelly. 

She had forgotten James's favoured spell - _Engorgio_. His dragon's wings increased in size, and it easily caught up with Sparks-a-lot, snapping at its tail. Rose called out, " _Geminio_ ," and suddenly there were two Sparks-a-lots racing for the finish. Sparks was a nose ahead - Ironbelly's wings were wavering and shrinking as the spell wore off - it was close-

"What's going on here, then?"

As one, their heads whipped around. Scorpius Malfoy stood, framed in the doorway, his schoolbag in his hands. He looked slightly unnerved to find so many eyes on him.

Belatedly remembering the race, Rose turned back, to find both dragons sitting at the finish line. "Who won?"

They glanced at each other. "You did, Rose," Albus said, with a confident air that probably meant he had no idea.

"No fair!" James protested. "Malfoy distracted us all. I didn't even get to use my best spell. Let's have a rematch."

"Oh, no," Roxanne said quickly, rising to her feet. Evidently, James's competitive streak had worn on her last nerve. Rose suspected Roxanne's own Pocket Dragon's inability to compete had a lot to do with that. "We'll call it a draw. Quidditch time now."

Until that point, James had been very vocal about only being there to kill time until Quidditch practise. Scorpius's entrance had him suddenly hesitant. "But Rosie doesn't play Quidditch. Maybe we should stay."

Rose and Albus shared an amused look, as Roxanne steered James out of the room.

"Right, lovebirds and Hugo. I'm off to get frozen to my broomstick. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." Albus adjusted the strap of his bag over his chest, and winked.

Hugo scrambled to his feet. "No - wait, don't leave me with them," he said urgently. "That's my _sister_ , Al. My sister and her boyfriend."

Rose crossed her arms over her chest, offended. "Your attention to detail is unparalleled, little brother," she said, dryly. "But it seems to have escaped you that you're not actually good enough to be on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, so I'm afraid you're stuck here."

Hugo sneered at her. It hadn't, precisely, been fair of her to bring up his lack of talent. James hadn't been gentle when he'd told Hugo that he hadn't made the team. She secretly suspected it had more to do with too many family members on the same squad; it had always been a problem for their lot. "Sod that. Some of us are still allowed in the library." He piled his books together and, without pausing to put them in his bag, departed through the door Albus was holding open.

There was a silence, and Rose winced. She would have to apologise for that later. Fortunately, Albus spared her the lecture, and left, whistling the tune to 'Weasley is Our King'.

"I hate that song," Scorpius burst out, and Rose grinned. It was the traditional Gryffindor song - Freddie's old trademark - though Ravenclaw had stolen it once or twice for Louis.

"Don't tell me you're a sore loser, Malfoy," she teased, picking up James's Ironbelly. It was motionless again, and rather lighter than she'd expected. She supposed the name 'Ironbelly' had conned her. James had never let her so much as touch it before.

She was growing rather used to Scorpius's company. He generally turned up when she was studying, or with Albus, and they had managed to be almost entirely civil all week. Prefect rounds and the Ravenclaw dormitories were her only sure-fire ways to be rid of him, but she hadn't resorted to those yet. 

To be honest, she hadn't felt the need to. Although she might pretend she was annoyed that he kept seeking her out (and, really, there was no need for them to be spending so much time together, especially when nobody was around to witness it), he wasn't _all_ bad.

Scorpius ignored her remark, and squinted at the Pocket Dragon. "I've never seen one up close before," he admitted, taking it from her before she could protest that James would have his head. "They're not particularly common in Slytherin. Can't support blood traitors, and all that." The wry twist to his mouth quelled her temper at his comments. It was rare that people publicly spoke out against the Weasleys these days, the war being too raw and recent, but she knew the old feelings still held strong amongst some. Scorpius's family, she suspected, disliked the Weasleys on a purely personal basis, and that was all right by her.

"I think Lily's got her own Pocket Dragon army." Rose swapped the Ironbelly for Albus's Longhorn; he raised an eyebrow at her, but maybe he understood, because he made no other comment. "Uncle George dotes on her. She always know how to get her way with him - well, with anyone."

He snorted his agreement, setting down Sir Sparks-a-lot. "So, Weasley. Show me what they've got."

Experiencing that fierce buzz of pride that always came from displaying her father's products, Rose first set Roxanne and James's dragons back in their pods. It was more than her life's worth to risk either of them getting damaged. She was more than happy, on the other hand, to risk Albus's, since he was the reason Scorpius was there in the first place.

Before she knew it, half an hour had been whiled away, simply putting the Longhorn through its paces. Scorpius - when he applied himself - was a quick learner, and thoughtful in his application of spells, using some variations that Rose hadn't considered.

"You look pensive," Scorpius drawled, using _Wingardium Leviosa_ to elevate the dragon further, a trick that would come in useful against Lily and James's more aggressive dragons.

It wasn't the right time to ask him about schoolwork. Rose released the lip she'd been chewing. It was just incredibly aggravating that he had the brains, and seemed to outright refuse to use them properly. But, it wasn't her place to nag him. If he wanted to slack off and ruin his career prospects, that was his problem - and potentially his parents' problem, if they had to continue to finance him.

"I'm thinking about the time Lucy used that charm, and it smashed her dragon into little pieces," she lied, eyes fixing on Sir Sparks-a-lot.

Scorpius was looking at her, she could tell, but she refused to return his gaze. Somehow, he would know she was lying if she looked at him, and that would make this a much bigger deal than it was. After a few seconds, he sighed, and brought Sir Sparks-a-lot down safely. "Have it your way, Miss. No damage to Sir Sparks-a-lot on my watch."

She scoffed at him. "You're saving your own back there. You don't want Al mad at you if you ruin his toy. He loses enough to James as it is with a fully-functioning one."

"Such is the fate of a middle child," Scorpius said dramatically, peering once more at the dragon. "Too young to know the tricks of the eldest, too old to cheat the youngest."

"Thus spake the wise only child," Rose returned dryly. His statement may have rung true for Albus, but certainly didn't hold water with the other middle children she knew, like Dominique, who ran rings around both Victoire and Louis.

He clutched at his chest, earning a smile from her, though she pursed her lips to conceal it once she realised. "You wound me, fair Weasley. I have made siblings my lifelong study, and fancy myself quite the expert."

Unable to help herself, Rose giggled. "You're an idiot," she told him, succinctly. Really, though, she couldn't imagine _not_ having siblings. In a way, she and her cousins were close enough in age and proximity that she almost - almost - had more siblings than she could handle. "Did you ever want a brother or sister?"

"All the time," Scorpius answered, sitting down on the floor. He patted the space next to him, and she was sitting before she had consciously thought about doing so. "My mum was rubbish at playing action heroes with me."

Rose laughed, but entreated him to be serious. It was rare that Albus wasn't around, that nobody else was around, and she thought she might as well seize the opportunity. Albus's plan was for her to befriend him, after all, and part of that was getting to know him.

"I _am_ being serious," he responded, nudging her with his elbow. "I tried my best to teach her, but eventually, I had to relegate her to the role of damsel in distress. Dad, too, when he played."

She had only glimpsed Draco Malfoy briefly at the train station once or twice, but the thought made her eyes crinkle with amusement. Her father had always been perfectly eager to join in their games, but her joke shop-owning father was also a long way from the stately Malfoy.

Recognising that Scorpius was not going to confide in her on this particular subject, and of course that he had no real reason to, Rose changed tact. "How are things going with April?"

"Progressing." Scorpius drew his right knee up to his chest, his left leg still sprawled out. She suddenly noticed that their hands were close together - if she moved her little finger two inches, they would be touching.

She withdrew her hand entirely. "That's good," she managed, folding her hands in her lap.

The corners of his mouth flickered, but she was unable to tell if she was the cause. "Definitely. Yesterday, she asked me to get out of her way, rather than shoving past me. We'll be back together in no time."

"What do you like about her?" The question was out before Rose could consider whether it was too personal.

Scorpius looked surprised. He leaned back on his hands, a thoughtful expression creeping over his face. "She's sweet. And funny. Awful at flying, though - I tried to take her up on my broomstick once, and no, that's not a euphemism, Weasley. Couldn't get her to balance properly, and we nearly ended up crashing into a tree. Not sure my broom's ever entirely forgiven me. They're sensitive beasts, you know."

"And girlfriends aren't?" Rose enquired.

"You're the one who called April a beast, not me," Scorpius replied, flashing her a grin. "But I can tell you she wouldn't take well to it."

"You've knowledge beyond your years, young Malfoy," Rose intoned, crossing her legs. "All right. As your partner in crime, I vote we speed things up a notch. You should conjure me some flowers at breakfast tomorrow - I've noticed she tends to arrive early, too. The spell is-"

" _Orchideous_ ," Scorpius said, flicking his wand. Flowers sprouted from the tip, and he winked at Rose. "Dad forgot Mum's birthday a few years back. This... didn't help. I like the idea, though I think I'll do it Saturday instead."

She took a flower from him, letting it lie flat on her palm. It was, she had to admit, nicely made. Scorpius plucked it from her, tucking it behind her ear. "There," he said softly, his fingers lingering as he secured the stem. "An orchid for an otter. How about that?"

Rose moved her head away from him, swallowing hard. She was glad of the intrusion as her relatives swarmed the room once more, muddy and loud, and a wonderful distraction from her racing heart.


	5. Favourite Ferrets

All in all, Scorpius considered things to be going well.

April was obviously taking the bait. Yesterday, he had devoted an hour in the Slytherin common room to the painstaking transfiguration of roses into a garland (and slicing his fingers in the process until he'd decided to do away with the thorns). He'd intended to merely drape them around Rose's neck at breakfast, but then April's friend had intervened, dropping into the seat beside him.

He had eyed Nadine suspiciously, wondering whether he needed to cast a protection spell. She was prone to lashing out, and had never held back with him previously. There was no telling what she'd do without April present to protect Scorpius.

"April wants to know," Nadine had announced, with no preamble, "if you're taking the Weasley girl to Hogsmeade this weekend."

To be honest, it hadn't so much as crossed Scorpius's mind. So, of course, he had opened his mouth, and said, "Of course."

He would have preferred wandering around with Albus, laughing and joking, and feeling like a Hogwarts student rather than a Slytherin outsider. But then, there was no reason that he _couldn't_ spend time with both Rose and Albus. That was one of the benefits of dating your friend's cousin. Fake-dating. Whatever.

The rift between himself and Francis hadn't yet healed. Scorpius didn't need it to as he had in previous years when they had fought. He had either Rose or Albus in all his classes, sat with them at mealtimes (when Rose wasn't threatening him with grievous bodily harm), and occupied his evenings well enough.

So, that was how Scorpius ended up sliding into the place next to Rose at breakfast. If he arrived before her, she managed to sit elsewhere, but her fellow Ravenclaws had learned by now that he would wedge himself in next to her somehow and consequently, they always left a space. He planted a kiss on her cheek, and watched her skin flare red in embarrassment. Had he kissed her before? He wasn't quite sure.

"I got you something," he murmured in her ear. He concentrated, flicking the tip of his wand at her plate, and it transfigured into a semblance of the rose garland he had spent all yesterday evening on.

"Is it a plate for breakfast?" Rose asked dryly, poking at the rose garland with her fork. It wasn't quite the appreciation he'd pictured, but it would have to do.

"Who needs to eat when they're in love?" Scorpius responded, piling his own plate high with sausages and eggs.

He kept his face turned away from her, because he knew her furrowed brow and tight lips would tempt him into laughter, and he had already been so close to spoiling the entire dating game at the Ravenclaw table before. Grace was far too suspicious a person for her own good. Still, he nearly snickered when Rose answered, "Me. _I_ need to eat, you idiot."

He tweaked her nose, unfortunately leaving his plate unguarded. Quick as a flash, she had exchanged his food for her roses.

"Fine, fine, you can have your breakfast," Scorpius said magnanimously, snatching a sausage from the plate. Who needed cutlery when he had perfectly good fingers? "Although, really, I'm not sure why you need a plate at all." He smirked at her, waiting for her eyebrows to raise in query, and continued, "I hear otters usually eat off their bellies."

"Say goodbye to your loved ones, Malfoy," Rose said, reaching for the milk and pouring herself a glass. It was, possibly, the least threatening accompaniment to her words that she could have chosen. "You're going down for that comment."

"That's funny," Grace said slowly, looking up from her textbook. Scorpius had seen her walk through the corridors - and through several other students not to mention ghosts - with her nose in a book, and highly suspected she bathed and slept surrounded by tomes. He found it easier to tolerate her company that way; she wasn't his favourite person when she did emerge from her reading. 

Max (Rose had told Scorpius not to refer to him as 'the Beater' enough times that the lesson was starting to stick) snorted from Grace's left, after peering at the title of her book. " _Goblin Contract Law_ is... funny?"

She waved a vague hand at him - Scorpius wasn't wholly sure her mind was in this world - in apparent dismissal. "No, that's not what I meant. You called him Malfoy. Like you always used to."

Rose licked her lips, and Scorpius found his eyes unaccountably drawn there. He had the impression that she was doing some quick thinking. His heart was thumping - stupid, stupid clever Ravenclaws. Why couldn't Rose be surrounded by dolts and idiots like he was in Slytherin? 

When she laughed, it rang false. "He deserved it," Rose responded, but her face was turning red as she lied. Scorpius wondered how on earth the Weasleys got away with anything when their very skin colour gave them away. "Did you not hear him say I should eat off my stomach? It's a wonder I didn't break up with him there and then."

It wasn't enough; Grace, queen of the sceptical look, was bestowing one on them right then. Scorpius eased his arm around Rose's waist. "This is why you shouldn't try joking, Rose," he said, in mock-earnestness. He raised his free hand to tuck loose hair behind her ear. "It doesn't become you. That's okay. You can make it up to me in Hogsmeade."

Rose sat perfectly still, blue eyes round as, well, breakfast plates. "I'm not spending the day with you," she said, her eyes flitting to Grace, who had not returned to her book as yet. It must have been some kind of record, though she seemed to be bearing the deprivation well. "I have plans."

Scorpius shrugged, unfazed. "Cancel them," he returned, pulling away from her enough to wind the flowers around her neck. "What could be better than spending Hogsmeade with your boyfriend?"

"I can't," Rose said, allowing him to fasten the flowers into a chain - the sort of chain, unfortunately for Rose, that wouldn't break unless Scorpius broke it himself. He hoped she'd showered already; he wasn't wholly sure the roses would stand up to an onslaught of water. "Grace, please-"

Grace straightened in her seat, looking thoughtful. "I think it sounds like a wonderful idea."

"Grace - you don't understand who will be there," Rose pleaded.

Still assuming the role of adoring boyfriend, Scorpius twined one of her curls around his finger. It was softer than he'd imagined. She hadn't let him close, not within the realms of allowing him to touch her, until then, and it was tempting to test how far her earlier faux-pas would permit him. He thought he'd pushed quite enough boundaries for the moment, however, though he remained as he was because Max was evidently watching them.

"I'm not forcing you to do anything, Rose," Grace said carefully. "I thought that you would have wanted them to meet. Wouldn't it happen sooner or later anyway? If the two of you are serious about each other, that is."

"The later the better," Rose said fervently, tugging her hair free of Scorpius's grasp.

\--

All in all, Scorpius considered things to be going extremely badly.

If he hadn't been preoccupied with Rose's hair at breakfast, he might have realised what (or who) Rose was worried about. Instead, he didn't clock until they were standing right outside the shop-front of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

"No."

"My sentiments exactly," Rose said grimly. "Why couldn't you tell Grace you had plans with Al?"

Scorpius scowled at her, folding his arms across his chest. It was now clear to him why Hugo had delivered more four-letter words (some of them accompanied by the suffix '-ing') in two minutes than Scorpius had heard since the start of the school year, after discovering that Scorpius was intending to accompany them on this visit. In Hugo's shoes, Scorpius probably would have wanted a front-row seat, but perhaps it had something to do with not wanting to spend another 'effing minute in that effing effer's company'. The feeling was mutual, and Scorpius couldn't help but think he wouldn't fare better with the elder Weasley. "It's not _me_ who made her suspicious in the first place, Weasel Queen."

Rose pulled a face at him, making another attempt to sever the rose garland around her neck without success. "You could have said it was too soon to meet my parents."

It would always, always be too soon to meet Ronald Weasley, Scorpius thought privately. How was he to know that Rose's father made a special effort to oversee the Hogsmeade branch when Rose had a designated weekend? "I don't have to stay long," he said instead, wondering if he had a death wish. Why couldn't it have been Rose's mother? Mothers were predisposed to being nicer, kinder, less inclined to dismember their daughters' potential boyfriends - or so he imagined. "But I never met April's parents. Aren't I supposed to be showing her I've changed?"

"I hope you like wearing your ears backwards," was Rose's only response as she pushed open the shop door.

Rose's father wouldn't do that.

... Would he?

Scorpius gulped, and followed her to his doom.

He'd never been inside a Wizard Wheezes's shop, but he had no time to look around. All his attention was taken up with the owner. Ron Weasley, ostensibly, was an ordinary, though tall, man, who delighted in embarrassing his children with public displays of affection, if the way he threw his arms around Rose was any indication. It wasn't until Ron caught sight of Scorpius standing awkwardly in the doorway that Scorpius remembered that this man was a war hero. In that moment, Scorpius would have done a lot to be anywhere else. Even scrubbing the Potions cauldrons with nothing but a wet rag and Moaning Myrtle for company would have been preferable.

"I think you'll find shops more to your taste elsewhere," Ron said coolly, releasing his daughter. He seemed even taller, somehow, and Scorpius stepped back, flat against the door. All his Rose-related misdeeds came to mind, and he hoped fervently that Ron was no Legilimens.

"Dad," Rose reprimanded, punctuating her words with a gentle shove. Scorpius could never imagine remonstrating with his own father in such a manner, especially not in public - if he, the shop assistant, and the two Hufflepuffs in the corner counted as public. "I invited Scorpius here." The lie tripped right off her tongue, and Scorpius was impressed, despite himself. "Scor, don't hang back like that. This is my father, Ron. Dad, this is Scorpius. My-" She flicked a careful look at the Hufflepuffs. "-boyfriend. Can we go into the back for a hot chocolate? I'm sure Steve doesn't mind watching the shop for a while. Hi, Steve."

In this manner, Scorpius found himself shepherded into an even smaller space with Rose's father. It would not have been his first (or second, third, fourth) choice to enter closer confinement, but Rose hadn't given either of them time to protest.

"Boyfriend?" Ron spluttered. Angry red blotches were standing out on his cheeks, but Scorpius discovered he didn't find them as attractive on the father as on the daughter. Which, he supposed, was some relief.

Scorpius's hand tightened in Rose's - he seemed to have clutched hers between the room changes. She squeezed gently in response, but addressed her father. "He's not really my boyfriend, Dad."

As much as Scorpius knew that he _wasn't_ Rose's boyfriend, he was a little upset that she was happy to tell people that he wasn't. He released her fingers immediately, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Ron's eyes flicked between them, and then he sighed and scarfed a hand through his hair. "Teenagers. Okay, take a seat - you too, Malfoy Junior - and fill me in. Keep it clean for your old man."

"Dad!" Rose protested, cheeks pink. 

Scorpius grinned, and settled on a stool. Now he was relieved of the pressure of being Weasley's boyfriend, this little visit might be rather fun. More importantly, it was very likely to produce fodder for teasing her later.

Ron waved his free hand, his wand hand busy summoning a flask and three cups. "I was a teenage boy once, Rosie. I know how they think." He flicked his wand, and one of the cups missed Scorpius's outstretched hand, and knocked into his shoulder. Scorpius had to grab it to prevent the cup from continuing to assault his arm. "Sorry about that. Little twitch left over from when I was an Auror."

On second thoughts, perhaps he'd be better leaving whilst he was still in possession of all his body parts.

Rose laughed. The sound made Scorpius start; he hadn't realised she could laugh like that. "Knock it off, Dad. There's no need to frighten him. I'm helping him out for a few weeks; he's cooked up this daft scheme whereby he thinks having another girlfriend will make his old girlfriend jealous. There's nothing in it."

Ron poured out the hot chocolate - Scorpius noticed his mug was somewhat less full than the other two. "Just so long as this isn't some ploy to win my little girl over," Ron said, levelling Scorpius with a stern look. "Uncle Harry-"

"'Uncle Harry' nothing, Dad," Rose said, shaking her head. "Scor and I are just friends."

It felt odd, after almost two weeks of pretending she was his girlfriend, to be dismissed as her friend, odder still to hear his nickname on her lips. He supposed the familiarity was good, that having things played down in front of her father was _very_ good, but it left him with somewhat of a hollow feeling inside.

"Right," Ron agreed, not taking his eyes off Scorpius. "How's school going, Rosie?"

Happily, Rose acquiesced and slipped into a long description of each of her classes. Scorpius did not hear a word of what she was saying, because Ron was staring straight at him throughout. Scorpius's mouth had dried out entirely, and his palms were beginning to sweat. Next time, he was definitely going to listen to Rose when she told him not to do something. Definitely.

"And where's Hugo?" asked Ron, when Rose had talked herself into silence.

Scorpius and Rose exchanged uneasy glances. "He had some friends to meet up with," Scorpius said smoothly, watching Ron sip from his cup before following suit. He hoped Ron hadn't slipped anything into it, but he would have to take that risk.

"As I'm sure you do, too, Malfoy Junior," Ron suggested, leaning back in his seat, his fingers tapping the table right next to his wand.

Well, when he put it like that...

" _Dad_!" Rose exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "He's my friend - I invited him here."

Deciding Rose had been forced to lie to her father quite enough for one day, Scorpius also stood. "It's all right. I should meet up with Al now anyway."

Rose nodded, sinking back down into her chair. "All right. I'll meet you both in the Three Broomsticks in an hour?" 

"Sounds good." Unable to resist the temptation of riling her father once more, particularly since he was soon to be reasonably far away, he winked at her. "See you soon, my favourite ferret."

"'Ferret'?" Ron had been watching their exchange in silence, but chose that moment to break in. Scorpius winced, realising he should have left that part out. Rose and her father shared a surname. Any goodwill he might have won through an early departure had just evaporated.

Rose shook her head. "Don't worry, Dad; it's just Scorpius's little joke. He thinks he's funny, you see."

An odd, almost amused twist pulled at the corners of Ron's mouth. "I do see. Did you know your father had a pet ferret when he was at school?"

Startled at being addressed, Scorpius shook his head.

"I think it was around our fourth year. Very pretty white ferret. You should ask him about it sometime. I'm sure he'd love to talk about it. Now, run along, Malfoy Junior, and leave us in peace."

Scorpius opened his mouth to say something, perhaps to remind Ron of his _actual name_ , or to mount a defence of his heritage, and found no words came. He grabbed his bag, and departed.


	6. April (in October)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments and kudos - and thank you to Lisa for betaing!!

"Do you want to tell me what's going on, Rosie?" Ron asked quietly, after Scorpius had departed.

Rose felt her traitorous cheeks begin to warm, and turned her attention to her drink. "There's nothing to tell," she answered. Truthfully, she wasn't sure what she'd hoped to achieve by the visit. The concept of introducing Scorpius to her father had terrified her initially, but then - well, she couldn't deny that she'd pictured them hunching over a new piece of merchandise. Ron advising how it worked, and Scorpius testing it out, and Rose looking on approvingly.

Of course - of _course_ it hadn't happened that way. Scorpius looked too much like his father, too much like a boy interested in Ron's little girl (even though she was hardly a little girl anymore). He'd been too keen to bolt at the first opportunity.

She sighed.

Ron got to his feet, touching the rose garland around her neck. "What's this?"

She had not exactly forgotten it was there, but she had made her peace with it. "Scorpius did it for me. I can't seem to break it."

Ron huffed out a soft laugh. "You remind me of your mother sometimes," he said, lifting the garland over her head. "There's more than one way to skin a cat, sweetheart."

The garland came off easily, so easily that she was embarrassed at not having thought of it herself. It hung from her father's fingertips, and she couldn't quite reconcile herself to leaving it here, already missing the slight weight around her neck. "I-"

Ron placed it in her hands, careful not to crush the petals. "Okay. Don't say anything else; I don't think my nerves can take it. You'll deal with it in your own way, I know that." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, squeezing her gently. "I trust you to know your own mind."

For the first time, her father's faith in her felt like an uncomfortable burden. He trusted her not to hang out with Scorpius, not to accept the gifts he offered (or to burn them if she did), not to like it when he kissed her cheek. Rose wasn't precisely sure if she _did_ like it, yet, but she didn't... not like it.

"I should go and find Hugo," she murmured, wincing as her father's arm went slack around her. Guilt settled like a rock in the bottom of her stomach, but she couldn't go back now. "He's only steering clear because of Scorpius. He doesn't know about our arrangement."

"About how you're only dating Malfoy Junior as a favour?" Ron said dryly, pouring scorn into the last word. He pulled back, but Rose still couldn't look right at him. She fiddled with the straps of her bag instead. This was not how she had pictured her father's visit. "I won't lie to him, Rosie. Not if he asks me something directly. I don't understand why you're helping some boy dupe his girlfriend, because nothing good can ever come of it, but I won't have it affecting our family."

Appropriately chastised, Rose wavered. The idea of spending an afternoon laughing and joking with her family was appealing - but she knew that it was just wishful thinking at this stage. Even if she did tell Hugo the truth this afternoon, he would be sulky at not having been told immediately. Hugo's sulks were legendary amongst the Weasleys. "I understand," she said instead, leaning forward to plant a kiss on his cheek. "Give my love to Mum."

He made a disgruntled sound. "Rosie. Do you think you're getting out of here that easily?" Her shock must have displayed on her face; he grinned, and produced the biggest quill she had ever seen. "Ostrich, I think. Probably the biggest yet?"

She tried to mimic his expression, but felt guilty as he shrank the quill and passed it over. Her father always managed to find the most ridiculous quills and requested she write home with them; she was reasonably sure that the more incomprehensible her writing became, the prouder he was. She would have to make time to write to her parents this week.

\--

Rose wrapped herself up in her coat and scarf after leaving the shop - November was letting them know it was on its way. In this weather, the lights of the Three Broomsticks were even more inviting than they normally were.

She pushed her way inside, aiming a light punch at Hugo's shoulder, since her brother was standing by the door. He jerked his head, and shoved past her. The brusque exit - she really did need to talk to him; Hugo was one of her favourite people in the world - suggested that Scorpius was somewhere in the pub.

It only took another minute before she saw him, and her stomach gave a funny jolt. He was in the corner, framed by a group of raucous seventh year Gryffindors (Rose had a horrible feeling her cousins were in the midst of them), and what looked like a half-troll. The half-troll was more than likely the reason for the nauseous feeling in her stomach (not that she had anything against other magical creatures, it was just that trolls were rather... pungent), and _not_ Scorpius's ex-girlfriend, who was looking thoroughly charmed.

"He's a pig."

Rose didn't even need to turn to know that Roxanne had materialised by her side. She shrugged, trying not to let it look like it bothered her. It was the aim, wasn't it? To get them back together - the sooner the better. "They're just talking, Roxy."

"Just talking, my a- er, foot," Roxanne finished, smiling at their Potions teacher. "Hello, Professor Tomkins, fancy seeing you here." Waiting for the professor to pass, she hissed, "They've been at it for half an hour. She's been _giggling_." Roxanne relayed it in the tone that most people would reserve for heinous crimes.

"Horror of horrors," Rose said, raising her eyebrows at her cousin. "I hope you've alerted the church elders. What other misdeeds have been going on behind my back?"

A sour look crossed Roxanne's face. "Make fun of me all you like, Rosie, but I'm telling you, neither of them are up to any good. I don't want to see you get hurt."

"I thought you didn't like my dating Malfoy," Rose probed curiously. "What's prompted all this?"

"I don't," Roxanne replied flatly. "Dump him, Rosie. He's not good enough for you to wipe your arse on - whoa." She flung her arms out, preventing Lily from going any further. "Stop right there, madam. There are teachers in here, and your mum will have my head on a plate if I let you get another detention in front of me. She'll have Rosie's too, but there are fewer brains in her head than we thought, so mine will be the bigger prize."

Lily turned an innocent look on them both. "I don't know what you mean."

"Bollocks," Roxanne returned. "I know that look on your face, even if I don't know precisely what you were going to do to Malfoy and his lady friend. You looked like a cat about to pounce on a canary."

Rose grinned involuntarily, but another look at April had the expression fading. All right, maybe nobody had outlawed giggling, but she wished they would, and touching one's ex-boyfriend's arm whilst they were at it. Perhaps if she spoke to Madam Rosmerta; her father said he had always been a favourite of hers during his Hogwarts days.

No. This was the road to madness. She was Scorpius's friend, and she hadn't even been that much until two weeks ago. There wasn't anything else to it; she didn't _want_ there to be more to it. It was only that feigning intimacy had made her accustomed to his attention.

"I'm going to the bar," she announced, wrapping her hand around Lily's wrist so the other redhead followed suit. "Roxanne's right, you know."

"No, Roxanne's left," Lily said with a smirk, pointing out their departing cousin. At Rose's unimpressed look, she relented. "Okay, okay. I know. It would have been too obvious it was me that time. Next time, I'll make sure it can't be traced back to either of us."

Rose stared at Lily, horrified. "That's not what I meant!"

Lily giggled, and threw her arm around Rose's shoulder. "Two butterbeers, please!" she yelled to the barman. "My cousin's paying."

"I'll pay."

Rose glanced behind her, and stiffened when she realised the voice had come from April. Her fingers fumbled for her rose garland, tucked into a pocket of her bag.

"Ten butterbeers, please," Lily called out to the barman, without batting an eyelid.

"Three," April said firmly, passing over a handful of change. "Run along, Lily. I'm sure you have some other little friends to play with."

To Rose's utter astonishment, Lily positively beamed back at April. "You're so right, April!" she gushed. "Thank you so much for the butterbeer. I do hope you have a nice day and don't fall in any mud or anything."

No good could come of this.

"Your family get-togethers must be _exhausting_ ," April said with feeling, watching Lily head towards her brothers.

Sometimes they were, but there was no way Rose was going to admit this to April. Weasleys closed ranks, and the only outsider permitted was Teddy Lupin, who was practically a Weasley anyway. Besides, it was unlikely that April had sought Rose out for the sole purpose of purchasing her butterbeer and sympathising with her hectic family. Rose felt a flutter of nerves in her stomach. "We're a close-knit bunch," she said evenly, sipping her butterbeer. It soothed her enough to keep her from wishing she'd ordered something stronger (even if she had, it was likely to get back to her father; she wasn't legal for another seven months).

"It's hard not to notice," April said, sparing a look for James's table in the corner. All right, they were loud, but where was the harm in that? Fortunately - Rose's fingers were beginning to twitch in the direction of her wand - April dropped the subject. "I saw you looking at Scorpius and me. I thought you should know that there isn't anything going on between us. We haven't spoken since the split."

It would be easier to hate April, but of course, Rose had no right, and no proper grounds. Unless April's invasion of her personal space counted as proper grounds. Rose looked at April's sincere face, and sighed inwardly. "I wasn't worried," she responded, leaning back against the bar to affect an air of nonchalance. Her elbow landed in a puddle of something. Too late to remove it now. "You can talk to him as much as you like; I know what you two had."

"Does he talk about me?" April asked, and then held up her hand to stop Rose before she could respond. "No. It was wrong of me to ask. I'm sorry. I hope you and I could try to be friends, though, Rose."

A coldness settled itself inside Rose, something another sip of butterbeer was unable to abate. She could see herself forced to sit there whilst April and Scorpius flirted relentlessly in front of her. Ridiculous, she was being ridiculous. This charade was all for April. "I would like that, too," she answered, because there was nothing else to be said. She should probably invest in a new set of textbooks; something to keep herself occupied in that eventuality.

"Great." April looked as though it _was_ great, like a current girlfriend making nice with an ex-girlfriend wasn't a strange and painful occurrence. The reality was stranger, but April wasn't to know that.

Rose shifted her feet, and then decided that she didn't care if April thought she was rude. It would serve to decrease the odds of April seeking her out again, and that could only be a good thing. She nodded to April, and turned in the direction of Scorpius and her cousins.

To cap off Rose's worst ever Hogsmeade visit, Lily was sitting beside Scorpius.

"All right, what have you done to him?" Rose sighed, taking the third seat. She examined her elbow, which was wet and sticky from whatever it had landed in at the bar. If only she could perform magic outside school; Grace was a self-made expert in these situations thanks to a general lack of awareness of her surroundings.

Lily turned wide eyes on Rose, an expression Rose had seen far too many times before. "Oh, Rose, we were just getting to know each other. If my favourite cousin is going to date somebody, of course I want to get to know him. You should eat at the Slytherin table with me sometimes." She pinched Rose's cheek; Rose batted her arm away too late. "Don't want you getting all boring with those Ravenclaws. Not that Rose is boring!"

"This is all very nice, Lily, but maybe you could give Rose and I some time to ourselves?" Scorpius drawled, stretching his fingers across the table to twine them briefly with Rose's.

Obediently - what was going on with Lily today? - Lily shot out of her seat, murmuring, "You're welcome," in Rose's ear before hurling herself at James.

"This has been the strangest day," Scorpius muttered in an undertone, his eyes still on the diminutive redhead. "Apparently, it's okay for me to like the Falmouth Falcons, I mean, because you actually say you don't like them, and you prefer the Holyhead Harpies, or the Chudley Cannons because your ridiculous father - Lily's words and not mine - corrupted you from birth, but Lily's sure you could be persuaded to like the Falcons if I like the Falcons."

"Good to know," Rose said, her mouth twisting into a smile. That vanished as Scorpius broached the subject of April, and how surprised he'd been when she approached him, but wasn't that great? Wasn't it fantastic that the plan was working?

It was, she supposed, and she said as much, but left the inn a few minutes later with the excuse of a headache. It wasn't a far stretch, given that the level of noise in the crowded pub had risen exponentially now James and Lily had joined forces.

She lingered outside the Three Broomsticks, feeling like her chickens were coming home to roost. She had successfully isolated herself from her family and her friends, either because they were trying to keep herself and Scorpius apart or push them together, and not even her co-conspirator provided solace. Could she join her dad and Hugo? They were probably still chatting away. She suspected her face might betray too much that she wasn't ready to admit at the moment. Her heart heavy, she set off back to Hogwarts.

Footsteps sounded behind her. Praying they weren't for her, Rose continued on until she was jolted by a pair of hands landing on her shoulders.

"Now where are you off to, my speedy skunk?" Scorpius asked, draping an arm around her.

She tensed, tempted to shrug him off, but let his arm remain for the moment. His stride was longer than hers, but she matched it, accustomed to walking with her father. She wasn't sure when the boys in her year had sprouted up, and hoped Hugo would remain shorter than her at least a little while longer.

"I thought you were sticking with the Mustelidae family. Don't tell me you exhausted those already." She was rather proud of herself for knowing this, since animals had never been her strong point, but she'd made a point of looking it up previously, so she knew what to expect from him.

"I was trying, but the temptation to refer to you as a skunk overpowered me. Much as, you might imagine, a skunk's stench might be overpowering. I am not, of course, intending to apply any 's' words other than 'speedy' to yourself."

"And 'skunk'," Rose reminded him. "Do sit with us at dinner later. I've got a new potion I want to test out, and your pumpkin juice would be perfect for it."

"You've made your point," Scorpius said hastily. He was probably remembering the time when it wasn't safe to drink juice in the castle without developing boils or fur on your face. Everyone had, of course, blamed James and Freddie, but they'd never owned up to it. "Now, why are you haring off - you see? Hares? Completely inoffensive. Is it because your father likes me better? I think I made quite the impression."

In spite of herself, Rose smiled, turning her face towards the Shrieking Shack so Scorpius wouldn't see it. Once she was sure she wouldn't giggle - he didn't deserve it, not for running out on her - she answered, "Only the impression of your outline in his shop door. You might have opened it before bolting."

"Sure, sure, and give your father an opportunity to take my wand measurements and fingerprints," Scorpius scoffed, and then he paused. "You aren't angry, are you? I thought you'd want time alone with your father, without me being a jerk. You didn't really want me along anyway."

Of course, after that, she couldn't hold onto her anger (and, privately, that fact annoyed her). "I was just teasing you," she said awkwardly, and then, because she couldn't bear for them to continue walking pondering on how flat her joke had fallen, she relied on the time-honoured tradition of discussing the weather. "It's such a lovely autumn day. Crisp."

Scorpius's silence suggested the new conversation topic wasn't taking. "I liked him, you know. Your dad. Even though he looked like he wanted to rip my throat out."

"Oh, he wouldn't do that," Rose reassured him. "He's far too handy with a wand for that." She ducked free of his attempt to muss her hair (handily freeing herself of his arm in the process), and laughed. "He's my favourite - I mean, I love both my parents equally, but I tend to get along better with my dad. It works for us, because Hugo gets along better with our mum."

Scorpius caught her hand, which she had been waving around whilst talking, and laced his fingers through hers. She was discomfited by it; she supposed he was accustomed to walking like this with April. "Your fingers are _freezing_. Haven't you heard of gloves? Or Warming Charms?"

Rose shrugged, not having noticed until that point. She thought better of pointing out that any Warming Charm she could have laid in the castle would have expired long ago. "Cold hands, warm heart."

"Cold hands, no gloves, cold October day," Scorpius returned. They walked a little further in silence, and could finally see the castle approaching. "I suppose I get along better with my mother than my father. She was all things to me growing up - both mother and playmate. It's what happens when you're an only child. Dad's great, though, don't get me wrong."

Since Rose had heard many stories to contradict this (mostly from her father - did you know Draco Malfoy had had to buy his way onto the Quidditch team? - and tempered occasionally by her mother, who told Rose that her father hadn't made it onto the Quidditch team until his fifth year, when Aunt Angelina had been Captain), she chose to pursue a new topic of conversation. It was likely that everybody but the first and second years would still be at Hogsmeade for another hour at least. "What do you want to do now?"

"I think I'm improved you a great deal, you know," Scorpius said smugly. "Time was, you wouldn't have thought twice about going anywhere but the library."

"Only because we got banned. That's hardly an improvement; it's wreaking havoc on my schoolwork."

Scorpius snorted, gripping her hand more firmly as she skidded on a patch of wet leaves. "Havoc? We study all the time, Rose. Even I'm starting to get straight Os. It's embarrassing."

She ran a hand through her hair, trying to flatten it as they re-entered the castle, bickering about where to go next. When had he started calling her Rose in private? Maybe it was a conscious effort after her Malfoy slip earlier that day - over which, really, she thought Grace had overreacted. It was probably well past time to start calling him Scorpius all the time, anyway. Even after he and April reunited, maybe she and Scorpius could still be friends.

Point one for Albus; result achieved. She had to start giving him more credit.


	7. Which Witch?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks as usual to Lisa, who puts up with a great deal and helps me make sense of my nonsense for you.

On the whole, Scorpius would say that getting punched in the face started his day off badly.

"Weasley - what _are_ you doing?"

That wasn't his voice; he was too busy trying to stem the flow of blood from his nose. Somebody shoved tissues in his hand, and he was better placed to look on his assailant.

Hugo Weasley. Marvellous. 

"Bloody hell, Weasley," Scorpius said, tentatively running a finger along the bridge of his nose with his tissue-free hand, before determining it hurt too much. "What was that for?"

"You know what it was for," Hugo spat back, crossing his arms over his chest.

Scorpius was reasonably sure that the only thing he knew right then was that his nose really, really hurt.

"You are ridiculous," the first speaker informed Hugo haughtily, and now Scorpius recognised April's voice. "Come on, Scor, let's get you away from the animals, and to Madam Longbottom. So much the better if we come across any teachers on the way." She directed this last to Hugo, who looked all the more defiant.

When they were some way from the scene of the crime, April asked in an undertone, "So, what _was_ that for? I didn't know the Weasleys went in for unprovoked assaults."

"Not a clue," Scorpius answered truthfully, sounding rather nasal. Personally, he thought Monday mornings were bad enough without unnecessarily aggressive Weasleys making them worse. Thank Merlin he had a free first thing. "Must have eaten my cereal too loudly for him this morning."

"I'm surprised the Ravenclaws didn't off you for interrupting their study if that was the case," April said, a little too casually for it to be natural. He ignored the comment, worried about being either too dismissive or too effusive over Rose, and pushed through the infirmary doors.

Madam Longbottom might have been his favourite member of staff if it weren't for the fact that every time he saw her at close-quarters, he was either ill or bleeding. He took the tissues away from his face, and gave her the most apologetic, pathetic look he could muster.

True to form, five minutes later, he was feeling decidedly better. Madam Longbottom, having fixed his nose and cleaned him up, held out a cup of tea. He took it with the foreboding feeling that an interrogation was about to follow. He was correct. With April seated next to him on the bed, Madam Longbottom pulled up a chair in front of him. "Now, Scorpius. Would you like to tell me what happened?"

Not a chance. "I fell. Into a door." Scorpius sipped the tea gratefully; it was almost worth getting injured. Well, maybe not quite. "A big door. Big handle."

"Right," Madam Longbottom said, in a tone that suggested she didn't buy his flimsy story. What did he care - he wasn't going to use his best excuses to keep _Hugo Weasley_ out of trouble. "And is the door going to turn up in five minutes, looking worse than you?"

"Madam Longbottom, I would _never_ hit a defenceless door," Scorpius said, affecting an offended air. "I thought you knew me better than that."

"I don't understand why you're defending him!" April snapped. Scorpius shook his head at her; he knew it was not that she didn't understand, but more that she didn't like the reason why.

"April, will you leave us for a moment?" Madam Longbottom asked, her eyes fixed to Scorpius.

Scorpius winced as April obeyed; he knew that he was going to like this even less than a broken nose.

"Scorpius, you don't have to tell me anything. But it's noted that you've been avoiding your yearmates - sitting at different tables, and so on. If you're being bullied, I can't do anything about it unless you let me know what's happening."

"I'm not being bullied," he answered, feeling uncomfortable. "I got a new girlfriend, and realised I'd outgrown some of my yearmates. Nothing more. It wasn't a Slytherin door that I fell on."

"Understood," Madam Longbottom said delicately. "I'm here to talk if you need me, though. I'm good for more than physical injuries."

Scorpius smiled at her, suddenly filled with the impulse to hug her. Instead, he handed her back the tea, with a murmured word of thanks.

It wasn't until he left the infirmary that he realised that Hugo's punch had merely been first blood (which, he supposed, was kind of appropriate for Hallowe'en). The real war was taking place now.

Rose was glaring at April, fists clenched and eyes fierce in a way he hadn't seen for the past few weeks. April, by contrast, was looking utterly disdainful in as collected a manner as she could manage. It was her way to infuriate people by being as cold as possible; it had riled Scorpius himself more than once.

"Ladies," Scorpius said, in an awkward attempt to ease the tension. "I'm here now. You can calm down."

It was the wrong thing to say. Obviously. Rose turned on him, and for a moment, he thought he was going to receive his second Weasley punch in the space of an hour. "I'm perfectly calm," she snapped, in a not-very-calm way. Not that he was going to point that out. "You two are welcome to each other."

"Now, what was that all about?" Scorpius asked as Rose stormed off, folding his arms and giving April his best I'm-not-impressed-with-you look (borrowed from his father).

He must be getting good at it, because April relented. "I may have said one or two things about what I thought of her brother. But it was all completely true - he attacked you out of nowhere, entirely unprovoked. All you're doing is dating his sister."

Scorpius swallowed tightly, his throat suddenly dry. He had a feeling he knew why Hugo had been so aggressive.

\--

"If you think I'm going to apologise to you, you've got another think coming," Hugo said, finding Scorpius outside his Defence class.

"I think that you're going to spend ten minutes chatting with me, or I'm going to let Professor Longbottom know what really happened to my face," Scorpius said in his most charming manner. "I've already checked, and the classroom next door is free. You can either talk to me now, or I'll engineer it so we get detention together, and you'll talk to me then. Believe me, I am extremely adept at getting detention."

Hugo called Scorpius a few unpleasant and colourful words, which Scorpius took to mean he was impressed. The younger boy followed Scorpius into the next room without comment, at any rate, and sat on one of the desks.

Scorpius leaned back against the board, his wand within easy reach in case this went badly wrong. He was careful to be well out of range of Hugo's fists. "Stop me if I'm wrong, but I'm beginning to get the impression you don't like me."

With the infinite eloquence of teenage boys everywhere, Hugo shrugged.

"And it's upsetting your sister."

That was too much for Hugo, whose words bubbled over his surly exterior. "Upsetting Rose? You're one to talk. She told me everything, you know - you're just using her to get to another girl. You're disgusting."

"Rose knows the score," Scorpius said, feeling a little uncomfortable. "She agreed to it. We're just... friends who call each other boyfriend and girlfriend when other people are around. Honestly; I'm not trying anything on with her. It's been nice to get to know her, that's all."

"She doesn't know, though, does she? Your ex."

Honestly, Weasleys. Truthful to a fault. There would be no point in the scheme in the first place if April knew about it. "No," Scorpius admitted. "But-" he said hastily -"if that's how we get back together, then I'd tell her. Or you could." It was hardly giving way to Weasley, even if Hugo might view it like that. In Slytherin House, you expected to be manipulated. April would likely be more impressed he'd pulled it off than upset at the manipulation. He could always accuse Hugo of being a liar if it didn't go in his favour.

Hugo's eyes were unreadable, and as with Ron previously, Scorpius couldn't help but compare his face to Rose's. Hugo must favour their mother more, Scorpius decided, not that he'd had the chance to examine Hermione's face up close. Hopefully, he never would - it seemed as though he wasn't coming off best in any of his Weasley encounters lately. "Okay, Malfoy. I'll tell you what - it's Hallowe'en, so I'm feeling generous. Come eat with us at the feast tonight. You can bring Rose. Hex anybody, and the truce is off."

That was Weasley being _generous_? It sounded more like torture to Scorpius. He couldn't (wouldn't) refuse, though. He nodded his assent to Hugo; he didn't quite trust himself not to be rude if he spoke.

"Great. See you later, then." Hugo weighted his bag in his hand, his mouth twisting in a way that brought to mind Weasley Senior. "I knew there had to be something going on - Rose isn't the type to go for somebody like you."

Scorpius was almost - well, scratch 'almost', he _was_ insulted by that.

\--

Scorpius made it through the rest of the day without being punched - which normally would pass without comment but, considering the morning he'd had, was a cause for celebration. And what better way to celebrate than the Hogwarts Hallowe'en feast, seated near some of his least favourite people?

Rose had been withdrawn all day, but then, Scorpius hadn't sought her out either, preferring to avoid having his head bitten off. It seemed to be contagious amongst the Weasleys; Albus had been oddly quiet as well. If you didn't count all those explosions that happened in Charms, which Scorpius didn't (despite the fact that his nose was still twitching. Never let it be said that he wasn't a loyal friend).

Scorpius wasn't holding out much hope that the rest of the family would follow suit over dinner (in fact, his favourite members being silent did not bode well for him), especially when he tripped over Roxanne on his way into the Great Hall.

"Nice of you to help me make an entrance," he drawled, holding the door open for her. The Hogwarts teachers had put on another excellent display, with several pumpkins hovering mid-air above each of the tables, cobwebs strewn liberally around, and swarms of colourful bats flapping around the room.

Roxanne collected the last of her items - apparently, her bag had split. "Thanks, Scor- er, Malfoy. You know I-" She seemed to abruptly take stock of her surroundings, and fixed her eyes on him.

"I know, I know," he said hurriedly. "You'll disembowel me if you catch me talking to my ex-girlfriend again, you'll make me into owl feed if I don't get the notes to you on time, you don't want to be seen talking to me, but I'm afraid you'll have to take that last one up with your cousin because he invited me to join you for dinner."

Roxanne still looked rather stunned; he wondered, perhaps, if she'd been the victim of a prank that was wearing off. James Potter seemed the type to practise on his own family. "Al invited you for dinner with us," she repeated slowly. "Notes - what notes?"

"Did somebody cast a Memory Charm on you?" Scorpius enquired, as nicely as he could. "I mean, I knew you were the slow Weasley, but this is excessive, even for you. Let me walk you over to the others. I think you'll need the help."

"Touch her, and your wand will be so far up your backside that you'll be tasting it."

And that, Scorpius surmised as he turned to face James, was likely indicative of how the rest of the evening was going to go. Great. "Wouldn't dream of it," he said, holding his hands up in surrender. It would normally be a foolish move, but he was reasonably certain there were at least three teachers with their eyes on James at all times.

"Good," James rapped out, glancing down at Roxanne's armful of books. "I don't know how you've duped Rose, but you won't get your hands on any more Weasleys. Bloody hell, Ro- er, that bag isn't designed for that many textbooks."

"Thanks, James," Roxanne said dryly. "It's true; you are the best person to have around five minutes after an accident."

The best thing, Scorpius decided, would be to leave them to it. Pleased with his new-found wisdom, he seated himself next to Rose, before any of her family could decide to separate them. Albus was much less likely to back him up if the other option was eating. Hugo and Lily were opposite, but that could hardly be helped.

"Oh, Merlin," Rose muttered, putting her face in her hands. "What are you doing here? Go sit over by the snakes, there's a good boy."

"Albus invited him," Roxanne said helpfully, choosing the seat next to Scorpius. There could be no good reason for _that_.

"Albus most certainly did not," Rose denied, glaring across at Albus. 

"Don't look at me," Albus said indignantly. "There's no way I'd voluntarily look at that face whilst I was eating. Hugo did it." Hugo nodded, after being prompted by Lily.

Scorpius was beginning to feel unwanted. The feeling intensified as Rose served herself several ladles of garlic soup - "To ward off vampires," she explained, to general amusement - and James planted the rest of the serving bowl in front of Roxanne.

"It's your favourite," he prompted her, with a side glance at Scorpius. "Here, Rose, don't eat all the fried onions - leave some for Roxanne, too."

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Scorpius focused on his own meal, which he thought to be a safe plan, until he realised that the Weasley clan were all drinking from their own flasks. "Potter, I swear, if you've fiddled with the pumpkin juice again, I'll-"

Hugo smiled sweetly at him, causing Scorpius to lose his train of thought. "You'll what, Malfoy? I think you'll find yourself a little hoarse if you try anything."

"Hoarse h-o-a-r-s-e or horse h-o-r-s-e?" Scorpius muttered to Rose as an aside. One, he was willing to risk. The other would mean missing dessert.

"Don't ask me about spelling, Scor," Rose answered. Scorpius had to turn his face away from her breath, choking quietly. "You know I'm terrible at it. Pass me the potatoes? I think I overdosed on bhajis."

Roxanne placed a calming hand on his arm. "They haven't done anything to the juice," she said in an undertone. "Just sit quiet, and eat, and leave as soon as you can."

It was sound advice, even if Roxanne didn't usually have his best interests at heart. Albus, however, appeared to have other ideas.

"So, Scorpius, _mate_ ," he said, one of his challenging smiles fixed to his face, the sort normally reserved for Quidditch matches. "I think now would be a good time to talk about your intentions with our Rosie here."

Rose began to choke on her mouthful. Even whilst she was turning red, she was shaking her head vehemently at James.

"Oh, Al, how could you forget that we already talked about this?" Roxanne said brightly, watching as Scorpius rubbed Rose's back. "It was around the time we discussed James and Polly."

"We never discussed James and Polly," Hugo said slowly, bolognese dripping off his fork. "Prissy Polly? Polly Perkins? _That_ Polly? She gave me a detention last week just because I was snogging Rog-" Lily kindly cut him off by clapping her hand over his mouth.

It was a tough call as to whose face was redder at that moment; Albus's, or Hugo's. Scorpius pursed his lips, something beginning to dawn on him.

"You can stop now, Scor," Rose croaked, and he realised that his hand was still on her back.

Well, if they were planning on messing with him, he might have a little fun of his own. He wrapped his arm around her, noting her squeak of surprise. "Sorry, pumpkin," Scorpius said easily. "I guess I just can't keep my hands off you."

By total coincidence (probably), the pumpkin hovering above Scorpius's head exploded at that moment, showering him in seeds and orange chunks. Rose remained mysteriously clean, though Roxanne had also been a victim of the blast.

"My wand malfunctions sometimes," Lily announced, with a wide grin. "I hope that didn't get anybody."

Choosing to ignore it, Scorpius grabbed a plateful of Trick-or-Treat Bertie Botts. "Sweets for my sweet," he said, picking out the vomit and ear-wax flavoured beans, and arranging them in a heart-shape in front of Rose. Who, he realised triumphantly, was definitely Albus masquerading as Rose, judging by the dubious way she was looking at the beans. Few people shared their familiarity with the varied flavours.

"I, er, I'm quite full, actually," she tried. "Thanks, er, darling."

"Lily and Hugo have gone," the fake Roxanne hissed.

Albus (who was most likely James, judging by his reaction to Roxanne's comments) swore violently. "Lily promised, she damn well promised that she wouldn't do this _before_ dessert. Quick, let's-"

They were out of time.

The remaining pumpkins burst simultaneously, shattering across the room. Rockets soared out of the shell remnants, and for a moment, the sky in the Hall was obscured by a mass of smoke and dancing skeletons.

Then came the mice. Half the students leapt onto their benches, as hundreds of rodents raced over the floor - Scorpius didn't even realise his hand had found its way into Roxanne's until she squeezed his gently. "They're sugar," she murmured, and maybe it was just his fancy, but he thought he could hear something of Rose even though she was using her cousin's voice. "They're just a multiplied, animated version of our Hallowe'en stock."

"I am going to kill your brother when I get my hands on him," he replied. He meant it, too. Probably. Hugo was going to learn not to cross a Malfoy. Punches were one thing, but nobody tricked Scorpius and got away with it.

"That might take some time - my brother isn't at Hogwarts," she answered carefully, still playing at being Roxanne, and then cautioned him to cover his ears as banshees swept out of the sky on broomsticks, wailing away.

It seemed to be the final act. Scorpius rubbed at his ears, and was in the process of picking the pumpkin off him, when a hand landed on his shoulder. He looked up, to find Professor Longbottom standing between himself and Albus-as-Rose.

"The interesting thing about troublemakers is that they always seem to know what's going to happen next," Longbottom said pleasantly. "So, I suppose you know what I'm about to say."

James-as-Albus cleared his throat. "Time for bed?" he asked hopefully.

Momentarily, Scorpius thought it might work, and then he took another look at Longbottom's face. This was not the sort of house which held much stock in nepotism, more was the pity. "Detention. Albus, James, Roxanne, Scorpius, and Rose. Report to my office at six tomorrow. Rose, I sincerely thought you might have turned over a new leaf after our last chat."

Scorpius glanced at Rose-as-Roxanne, and saw her biting down on her lip. She had tried to caution him to leave as soon as he could, so he wouldn't get tangled up in the whole mess. Suddenly, he found himself saying, "Sorry, Professor. It was just a prank war between Slytherin and Gryffindor - well, between me and the Gryffindors. Rose was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Longbottom shook his head. "Then this will discourage her from being at the wrong place at the wrong time _next_ time. Go to your dormitories."

\--

They didn't go to their dormitories. Albus and Scorpius headed to the Owlery so that they could be the first to inform their respective parents.

"You know what's interesting?" Albus said slowly, kicking at the floor. The Polyjuice Potion was wearing off, though his hair still bore a reddish tinge. "We've been best friends for years, and I don't think you've ever once tried to get me out of detention. You always tell me that if I get caught, it's my own fault - and the punishment will teach me not to get caught next time."

"It's true," Scorpius protested, hunting through his bag for his quill. "Damn it, if my mother gets wind of my detention before I can spin it, I won't get anything for Christmas."

Albus tapped Scorpius on the shoulder, passing over his own quill and ink. "I know. It's just that, you tried to save Rose from detention tonight. I'm wondering why that would be."

Scorpius shrugged at him. "She warned me about the banshees. It's good manners."

"All right. If you're sure that's all it is."

"What else would it be?" Scorpius asked, dipping the nib in the inkpot, and flicking ink over Albus (bugger, over Rose's robes... Never mind. She would definitely know the right cleaning spells). "Now, do you think my mother still believes in my innocence enough that I can tell her this was an unprovoked attack?"


	8. Thinking About Thinking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been so long! I have had the worst writer's block and am only half back on track. Thanks as ever to Lisa!

Mastering wandless magic, Rose mused, would make detention considerably easier. Or she could try not getting detention. She sighed, and dipped the sponge back into the bucket for what must have been the fiftieth time.

"You missed a bit."

Rose didn't have to turn around to know that Scorpius would be leaning against the wall, probably with one foot picked up. Envisaging the self-satisfied look on his face gave her incentive to scrub the floor harder. She should have anticipated that he would tire of detention with no direct supervision; she was only surprised that Uncle Neville had not anticipated the same. Perhaps he had his hands full in the greenhouses with her cousins.

"Actually, I think you missed the whole room. My, my, my, they must really work the house elves at your place. And your mother comes across so _principled_."

Rose dunked the sponge in again, and threw it behind her. She could hear when it splattered on the floor, and turned to see it had fallen just shy of its increasingly smug mark.

"That," Scorpius said, delicately poking at the sponge with his left foot, "was not very nice, my brash bobcat. I have come in peace to help you, when you are the one who got me into this mess in the first place. And now you're trying to get me literally messy as well as figuratively."

On cue, her face warmed, and she placed her hands on her cheeks in the vain hope of cooling them before the blush materialised. Scorpius's knowing smirk suggested she was not successful. "Oh, go scrub a cauldron," she muttered, which, whilst not her best retort, was really what he should have been doing in the first place. "And give me back my sponge."

Instead of paying attention, Scorpius stepped over the sponge, and crouched down in front of her. "You are an awful fool sometimes," he murmured, using his hands to wipe the soapy residue from her face. Rose felt her heart stutter in her chest. "Luckily, you have me."

It was a good job Scorpius was fond of the sound of his own voice; Rose's mouth was entirely dry. She had no idea what she might have ventured at that point anyway, before he was continuing, "And, since I have finished my task, I have decided to take pity on you."

That woke Rose up. "Pity?" she said, a tad hoarsely. Awkwardly, she cleared her throat, and tried again. "Professor Longbottom won't be happy when all you've done is dip a cloth in those cauldrons. He wants them _clean_."

"They sparkle like your smile," Scorpius said airily. "Close your eyes."

Having previously been internally bemoaning her cleaning task, Rose was suddenly intensely glad that the others had been set to work outside the castle, and there was no chance of being caught in a compromising position by her family members. "Wh- I - no."

"You are no fun." Scorpius sighed, but did not move away. "I don't know why I put up with you."

Before she could remind him of all the reasons, he placed a wand in her hand.

She stared at it, uncomprehending for a moment. "But - but you had to give your wand over to Professor Longbottom. I saw you."

Scorpius nodded, assuming an expression of such seriousness that she braced herself for an onslaught of sarcasm. "Yes, dearest Rose, but it is a good job I have socks in which to store any other wands I might wish to have if I think my wand is going to be taken away from me." He shook his head at her. "You other houses - how do you cope? I thought Ravenclaws would be wise to something like this, but it seems we have you beat. Come on, let's finish up here and we can amuse ourselves until Longbottom gets back."

It was tempting, but Rose shook her head. Uncle Neville would know - and even if he didn't, Rose would know. "That isn't the point of detention, Scorpius. I did the wrong thing, I got caught, and in an hour, I'll have atoned."

He stared at her, an eyebrow raised. A moment passed where she thought she might have impressed him, but then he turned away from her. "How Hufflepuff of you. All right, Rose. _Geminio_."

When he turned back, there were two identical sponges in his hands. He tossed one to her. "Let's get to work."

\--

"He helped you."

"That's what I said," Rose answered, with a nonchalant attitude she didn't quite manage to pull off. She wished now that she had remained silent, stored the memory of Scorpius engaging in a chore just for her. To distract herself from her cousin's penetrating gaze, she took another sip of tea. Albus was something of a favourite with the Hogwarts house elves, and had no problem securing whatever items he pleased. Rose and Hugo were not quite so fortunate.

Albus leaned over from his own armchair and captured her chin in his hand. She fixed her eyes on his, firmly squashing any wayward thoughts. "Rosie." When she remained steadfastly silent, her heart pounding in her ears, he sighed and released her. "This was _not_ what I intended when I suggested you two spend more time together."

"I hadn't planned on doing chores either," she retorted, but her voice was quavering. A horrible, sinking feeling came over her as she recalled her surroundings - the Gryffindor common room, which housed two other more hostile cousins, not to mention her very hostile (when it came to Scorpius, at least) brother. Comfortable seating arrangements were not worth a potential public spectacle. She sat up with the intent of making a quick escape if necessary.

A snort came in response. "Okay, you know that's not what I meant. Rosie, darling, you remember that the whole point of this plot is to get his girlfriend back, don't you? You're doing all this to trick some other poor sucker into falling for Scorpius. Helping him pretend he's a half-decent person."

His words needled, as, she suspected, intended. She felt uncomfortable, exposed. It was one thing to tentatively consider... certain events in the privacy of her own head. It was quite another for Albus to sit there ridiculing her. For the moment, she sat there without response, simply concentrating on breathing. Her chest felt suddenly tight.

Relief swept in, unexpectedly, in the form of Hugo, who bounded over, more puppy than human, and snatched up the remaining biscuits.

"Hugo!" Albus protested, his tea splattering on the carpet as he made a grab for the younger boy.

"Sorry," crunched Hugo, crumbs spilling everywhere. Their cosy evening tea had been upended in seconds, and Rose couldn't be more thankful. "Rosie, I'm having trouble ageing my goldfish. Will you come help me? Please?"

This, Rose considered, would be the lesser of two evils - if Hugo mentioned Scorpius at all, it was unlikely to be in the same manner as Albus. She drained her cup, and set it back on top of the red and gold tray.

"We'll finish this discussion later," Albus warned her. She merely winced in response, and climbed through the portrait hole after her brother. She certainly would not be spending any time alone with Albus in the near future if she could possibly help it, though it was unlikely she'd be able to avoid him for a full month. Just long enough, that was all she needed, just long enough to get her head straight.

"Which class is this for?" Rose asked, as Hugo fell into step beside her. "I don't remember learning how to age a goldfish."

Hugo slung an arm around her shoulders. "No? It's easy - you take away the 'g'."

Old fish. Right. She shook her head at him, laughter bubbling to her lips out of sheer relief.

"You looked like you needed a break," Hugo said, guiding her through a side passage and down the stairs. "There's a limit on how much big brother Al I can stand. Anyway, Dad sent me a new product through, thought you might want to help me test it out. He made me promise to go outside."

Warmed by her brother's thoughtfulness, if not by the frigid November air, Rose stepped out into the enclosed courtyard, which was well-lit even as the winter nights were closing in. She shivered involuntarily as a gust of wind swept through. Strictly speaking, the students were preferred to be inside at this time, but she knew the Slytherin quidditch team were currently practising, meaning there were adults outside, and there wasn't any point being a prefect if you didn't occasionally get to take advantage.

" _Accio Rose's cloak_."

"Show-off," she mumbled to Hugo's laughter, taking the newly-arrived cloak from him. "I could have cast a fire." Now _she_ was showing off, but she couldn't help it. Hugo had always looked up to her, and now he could manage increasingly more powerful spells on his own.

Hugo shrugged, and pulled a bag out of his pocket. "Don't want to risk these little ones getting burnt. Close your eyes."

The phrase sent Rose rocking back to detention earlier that day. Normally, she would have been minded to refuse - Hugo was occasionally dangerous in the hands of their father's pranks. Today had wrung her dry, however, and she wasn't even quite sure why. She shut her eyes obediently, and felt Hugo arrange her hands in a cup formation in front of her. Whatever he placed in them felt furry and - was it wriggling?

She opened her eyes to find a toy ferret squirming in her grasp. Instinctively, she closed her hands over one another, preventing the toy's escape.

"Dad's calling them Incredible Bouncing Ferrets," Hugo announced. "I think the aim is to see who can bounce theirs the highest? He told us to get some practise in before he sends ones for the rest of the clan. Asked us to send any notes as usual, but said you should try to keep them to two feet of parchment this time."

She wasn't thinking of Scorpius, and his pet names for her. She wasn't.

"Sometimes I wonder how he gets his ideas," she murmured, tipping the ferret into one hand and running her finger along its back. It stilled, and promptly curled up into a ball.

"Who knows?" Hugo returned, hurling his handful of ferret at the ground. It squeaked on impact, then rebounded, springing up level with Rose's nose, before bouncing back down. "Nice! Imagine how much better it'll bounce on wooden floors. Do you think there's a way we can manipulate the ground when we play with the others?"

Rose's eyebrows lifted. "You mean, 'cheating'?" she asked, disdainfully. Her own ferret was thrown rather more carefully, and she winced as it hit the ground.

"Pathetic," Hugo crowed, when Rose's ferret inevitably failed to reach the same heights as his. "C'mon, it's not a real ferret, for Merlin's sake! At this rate, I'm going to put you on Al's team when we play with the others. What was he lecturing you about, anyway?"

Instead of answering, Rose flung her ferret at the cobbles, and watched it soar at least a foot over Hugo's head.

"Touchy, touchy. I guess all I have to do is mention Scorpius, then, and you'll remember how to throw." 

The ferret bounced twice more before leaping back into Rose's hands. She lay them flat, and let the ferret wind its way around them. It was tempting to throw it at Hugo, but she managed to resist. "Whilst we're on the topic of Scorpius, Hugo, _punching him_ was not-"

"I know," he interrupted, lowering his eyes. "I'm sorry, okay? It's not like I planned it; I just saw his smug face and I couldn't help it. It won't happen again. Probably. I'll do my best."

His candour took her aback; she curled the toy up again and threw it at the castle walls to give her some thinking time. Hugo didn't apologise unless he meant it. "You should really be saying this to him," she said severely, before rethinking. "Some of it, anyway. I know you invited him to sit with us for dinner just to get him detention as well."

Hugo's face maintained its contrite expression for approximately five seconds before he broke into a broad grin. "Did you see Albus when he caught sight of him? I thought he was going to burst. Wish I had a picture. And Roxanne force-feeding you onions as though you'd be tempted to snog Malfoy when you looked like her."

Unwilling as she was to reinforce Hugo's wrongdoing, Rose couldn't help but laugh along with him. It had all seemed very different the previous evening, and her heart had been in her chest, wondering who was going to do what to Scorpius under the guise of being a different family member. All in all, detention had not been such a bad result, and perhaps that was why Scorpius hadn't whinged too much about being an innocent party.

"These are fun, actually," she said, switching back to the safer topic of the ferrets. "Once you get past all the squeaking. I do keep worrying that I'm going to injure it."

"You're too soft," Hugo told her, tossing his own toy up in the air, and catching it. "You're not going to write home about me punching Malfoy, are you?"

Rose shook her head, preventing the ferret from running up her sleeve. "What good would that do? Dad would probably reward you."

Hugo looked as though he were seriously contemplating telling their father at that. Then, he shook his head. "Merlin. It's as though you speak his name and summon him." He gave Rose a stern look. "You didn't summon him, right?"

"What, Dad?" Rose asked, bemused. She followed Hugo's gesture until she found Scorpius, evidently done with practise, leaning out of a window and waving at her. She waved back, at least until Hugo stepped on her foot. "Ouch! I thought you were going to be nice?"

Hugo scoffed. "I _never_ promised that. I'm pretty sure he's the reason I've got detention for the rest of the week - Uncle Neville found me after lunch, and I know I wasn't actually the one who upset all his Snargaluffs, however much somebody might have made it look that way."

"Serves you right for getting us all caught yesterday," Rose retorted, endeavouring to keep the smile from her lips.

"It was a stupid scheme, anyway, and you know it. All James's schemes are too loud. We were bound to be caught out; you're just mad because Lily and I were quicker than the rest of you. Merlin, go deal with your _boyfriend_ already so I don't have to look at his face any more. I might break that promise sooner than even I thought."

She demurred, having planned on some space - but Scorpius _had_ sought her out, and there wasn't much time left before she had to do prefect rounds, anyway. If she didn't invite Scorpius on those, he managed to track her down, and apart from anything, it was useful having a Slytherin around if she had to discipline a student from that house. "Thanks for the ferret, Hugo. Try not to get yours confiscated too soon, we don't want another repeat of-"

"Would you have to confiscate it if I threw it at Malfoy's face?" Hugo asked, sounding as though he were actually considering it.

Rose wisely disappeared inside.


	9. Making Amends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the kudos! Trying to stave off writer's block by continuing, so fingers crossed!
> 
> thanks to Lisa and Kyp for betaing - Kyp was mvp and kindly did it whilst unwell (sorry :( )

"If I never sit on a broom again after this week, it'll be too soon," Albus groaned, gingerly clambering over the bench and slumping over the table. Scorpius grinned down at him, midway through a pot of yoghurt.

"What's the matter, Al? You look like you should be on bed rest till Sunday," Lily offered helpfully, pelting her brother with pieces of bread roll.

He held his hands up wearily to stave off a further assault. "I appreciate your so-called concern, baby sister, but if you don't let me eat, I'm going to cast a permanent sticking charm on you and we'll see how well you fly attached to a bench fit for forty people."

"Do you think it's just forty?" Lily asked, squinting up and down the bench. The Ravenclaws had stationed themselves a fair distance from the two Slytherins - Scorpius could sympathise. Also, it was nice to be able to spread out. "Bet the Slytherin benches can fit _forty-one_."

Albus ignored her in favour of systematically devouring an entire plate of bacon rolls.

It wasn't his wisest decision; Lily, having finished her lunch, was in the mood to be entertained. "We're going to destroy you on Saturday. You won't want to see Malfoy's face again after he wipes the floor with you - actually, you probably don't want to see his face in the first place, and who can blame you?"

Scorpius blinked at the change in tack; apparently, there was only so much pleasantry Lily could doll out in his direction.

"Seriously, Lily, the only reason I'm sitting here is because James won't stop throwing things at me to 'check my reflexes'." Albus pulled a face as he formed the air-quotes with two chunks of bread. "Don't make me move to the Hufflepuff table. Half my year still won't talk to me because I didn't know I was supposed to be dating MacGregor."

But Lily had lit upon another topic of conversation. "Rosie! Come and sit with two members of your favourite Quidditch team and an interloper."

Scorpius couldn't help a smile at that, watching Rose approach. In all honesty, he didn't see Rose supporting Slytherin from the stands. She would be, at the very least, standing with her brother, and the Weasley-leaning Gryffindor team was likely to sway Rose further in their favour. That wasn't to say he hadn't thought about wrapping his scarf around her neck 'for safe-keeping', a point of green to focus on amongst the sea of red.

She was veritably glowing; Scorpius tilted his head on one side, considering her, as she climbed into the space next to him. "What's that?"

Apparently rejuvenated by the food, Albus was finally sitting upright again. "Just tell them that you're supporting Gryffindor at the weekend," he entreated, crowding the area around Rose's plate with dishes by way of bribery. Scorpius switched the salmon out for the cheese and pickle sandwiches next to him.

"I'm not supporting Gryffindor at the weekend," Rose answered, reaching for a sandwich, and Scorpius felt a thrill go through him. "That doesn't mean," she added, interrupting Lily's loud, triumphant, 'hah!', "I'm supporting Slytherin. I'll cheer you all on individually, and hope for a draw."

"You're the worst," Lily declared, abruptly vacating the table. 

Scorpius chuckled, satisfied with Rose's response. It was better than he had expected, after all. "So, where have you been, then, Miss?"

Her eyes were bright and wide, and he felt his own lips stretch into a grin to mirror hers. Her whole countenance was so joyful that, to be honest, he was expecting the answer to be a bit more exciting than, "The library."

"Nice!" Albus cheered from her other side, but Scorpius could see those private study hours holed up in empty classrooms dwindling. There wasn't the remotest chance that Madam Pince would let him tease Rose away from her books. He'd probably get strung up outside the library, left to rot as a reminder to any dissenters that the library was a blank vacuum, devouring all laughter.

Or maybe he could get a grip and remember that he was supposed to be practising for Quidditch season anyway.

"Yes! It's been a month, so I went along to beg and plead, and she let me back in after I donated a couple of Mum's books. If I get banned from home, do you think Aunt Ginny will let me come live with you?"

"Wait," Scorpius interrupted, speaking over Albus's reassurances, "we've been dating for a month?"

Rose glanced at him, her smile fading. "Sure. One month down!"

His mouth twisted as his mind supplied the rest of the sentence. _One month to go_. He wasn't sure he liked the sound of it.

"So!" Albus exclaimed loudly, making the other two start and break eye contact. "The library! Why don't we finish up here, and head up there? I for one could do with some silent group study."

"Actually, I've got a few spells I need to practise," Rose said, sliding a sandwich into a pocket of her bag. "You can go to the library if you want, though, and I'll meet you there later."

Scorpius shrugged, in no hurry to reacquaint himself with the dingy book maze. "I don't mind practising with you. I could do with going over _Arresto Momentum_ myself."

"Maybe you could help me with it," Albus muttered. "I can think of a few things I'd like to stop."

\--

Quidditch began to consume him on the Friday. Scorpius was vaguely aware that this preoccupation occurred later than it would usually, but he sat up late in the common room regardless, idly playing with the balls of light Rose had helped him conjure. They disappeared at will, and he kept an eye out for any tell-tale glimmer. This was good - it helped calm his nerves, even if he was exceptionally glad that the common room was empty. He didn't like to think what he looked like, snatching at thin air.

"Big game tomorrow."

Bugger.

He made a futile grab for a vanishing ball, then turned to see April, clad in her fluffiest dressing gown. He swallowed, hard.

"I figured you'd probably be down here. Not made up with the other boys yet?"

Scorpius shrugged, tapping his wand and vanishing the balls of light. It seemed as though he wouldn't be wanting any distractions for this conversation. 

"Francis says he doesn't even know what happened."

Of course she'd take Francis's side. He leaned his head back, abruptly tired of other people meddling.

"Sorry. Obviously not the time." She padded down the stairs and curled up at the end of his sofa. "I have a present for you." She held the pocket of her dressing gown open, and revealed a Snitch. "It always used to make you feel calmer."

It didn't this time, but he reached into her pocket for it anyway, his veins thrumming with adrenalin. Tomorrow felt like it was going to be a Big Day. Imagine if he embarrassed himself in front of the Weasleys, fell off his broom in front of the school, didn't notice the Snitch when it was in front of his face. His fingers closed around the other Snitch, and he felt the wings beating against his palm briefly before they furled up.

"How are your studies going?" he asked, letting his arm rest on the back of the couch. That was casual, right? Her eyes fixed on it, as though she were also remembering the times when she would have followed up by leaning into his embrace.

April smiled crookedly. "Great, thanks. Tomkins keeps coming up to me and commending me on my change of attitude. Guess I must be doing something right." She paused, and then enquired, "How's Rose?"

What was the right answer? Did she want him to say things were going well, or that they weren't going well? He reflected briefly, bitterly, on how much easier things would have been if he'd never taken Francis's advice - but then he'd have missed out on this month with Rose. 

Scorpius settled for a non-committal, "Oh, you know," knowing full well that she _wouldn't_ know.

April nodded along anyway, tightening the rope around her waist. "I'd better go to bed." She leaned forward, briefly brushing her lips against his cheekbone. It would be easy, too easy, to pull her down into a proper kiss. He didn't. "Good luck tomorrow, Scor."

His head thunked against the back of the sofa. At least he wasn't thinking about tomorrow any longer.

\--

Anticipated or not, Saturday arrived anyway, and Scorpius was greeted by the curtains around his bed being flung open. 

"Rise and shine, Snitch."

Francis. Scorpius's eyes opened, and he blinked blearily at the sheets before hauling himself up in bed.

"Going to remember which side you're on today?" Francis goaded, without malice. It was just his way. "Not going to 'forget' to catch the Snitch?"

"Please," Scorpius said disdainfully. "I could catch that thing in my sleep." Gratifyingly, his fingers closed around the Snitch April had given him, and he hurled it at Francis.

"Good to know," Francis said, seemingly unruffled, but only because the Snitch had caught flight mid-air, and thus avoided hitting him in the face. "Get dressed. Osbert told us to make sure you sit at the right table today."

Scorpius shrugged, as though where he sat was of no consequence to him, but he headed off to his shower with a sinking heart.

\--

The empty space next to Rose at breakfast made Scorpius feel odd, unsettled somehow, especially when their eyes met across the Great Hall. She waved, and he returned it with equal awkwardness.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Lily announced as she slid in beside him.

"Save it for the Gryffindors," he advised, and her eyes crinkled with amusement. He didn't doubt she would if she could.

The disconcerted feeling followed him out onto the pitch. He hadn't been able to see Rose beforehand, having been marshalled by his team from breakfast to dormitory and out to the stands. Wind was buffeting the banners around like they were little rags. It wasn't going to make for easy flying.

Albus's face across from him was set and grim. Either way, things would be tense between them for a few days. Scorpius prayed that it would be on his terms, that Rose would sit and tell him how brilliant he had been, in low, quiet tones as he reached for the belt of her dressing gown-

The whistle blew, and Scorpius was a beat late mounting his broom.

Not a great start.

He tried to redeem himself, sweeping around the pitch, but the Snitch was nowhere to be seen. Below him, one of the Slytherin Chasers seemed to be having trouble keeping hold of the Quaffle.

"Potter scores! Ten points to Gryffindor!"

Points racketed up on the other side of the board after that (had Gryffindor practised in the middle of a hurricane?), and Scorpius would have earned himself a month of detentions if any of the teachers had been able to hear his language. Lily was scraping a handful back, but at this point, the game was weighted heavily in Gryffindor's favour.

"You take out Greene, and I'll take out Osbert, and we'll finish this game together," Lily muttered as she passed him. "Catch that Snitch now and I'll shove it so far up you'll be tasting it."

Of course - of course that was when the Snitch made an appearance. Albus saw it a beat later, but Albus was closer, lighter, faster, flattening himself to his broom. Scorpius yelled out he didn't know _what_ to Warrington, and both Slytherin Beaters swung the two Bludgers towards Albus.

Scorpius winced as they made their impact, and sent Albus spiralling off, the wind blustering him further away. Good. Scorpius reached the Snitch, guarding it whilst James remonstrated with Warrington, and received a Bludger two minutes later for his pains.

"Osbert scores! Ten points to Slytherin."

"Just a couple more of those," Scorpius muttered, his heart-rate easing as he noticed the Snitch had disappeared again.

His attention had been diverted too long - blinding pain shot through his shoulder as a Bludger crashed into it from behind. He swayed on his broom, clenching his jaw. Bugger, bugger, bugger. From the corner of his vision, Roxanne gave him a cheery wave, tapping her Beater's club.

Nausea spread through Scorpius's stomach, swelling up. He focused his eyes on the stand in front, trying to steady himself. Gingerly, he tried to extend his left arm, but decided it was better to keep it tucked to his middle. He could fly one-handed, surely. 

He wobbled about, but eventually was capable of a jolt forward, and even established a drunken sort of weaving. It was important not to stay still so she didn't get him again, and there was no way he was getting off this broom before he'd caught the Snitch. He was distantly aware of another "Potter scores!", but he couldn't tell which Potter, and whether or not it was a good thing.

This game needed to end. Now. He glanced over to the Ravenclaw stand - and there it was.

It wasn't easy to be nonchalant in the middle of a high-speed Quidditch match, particularly one arm down. Scorpius meandered his way over, trying to look as though he didn't have control of the broom, which wasn't too difficult. Blinding pain was shooting through his shoulder with every jerky movement.

He had no idea what the score was. If he caught the Snitch now, there was every chance that Slytherin were still too far behind to win. The crowd was roaring in his ears, or was that his blood? He gritted his teeth, holding his broom as steady as he was able, and his fingers closed around the Snitch.

Sometimes, it took a moment for the commentators to catch up - normally, at this stage, Scorpius would be holding the Snitch aloft, exhibiting. He chose to head towards the ground, keen to get his arm seen to, and heard the game finishing behind him in some confusion.

\--

"You arse, Malfoy! You absolute and complete wonderful but total arse." 

Lily burst into the hospital tent where Madam Longbottom was healing his arm. She had effectively used her wand to pop his shoulder back into its socket, and he had not relished the experience.

"Lily," Madam Longbottom said reprovingly, handing Scorpius a fizzing Draught. "Here, Scorpius, this will fix your muscles, but you'll probably still experience some pain for a day or two."

"Sorry, Aunt Hannah," Lily replied. "But he _is_. Malfoy, I thought I was going to have a heart-attack! You must have gone for the Snitch before we knew we were clear on points! James made them review the whole thing, and there's barely a second between Greene's score and you catching the Snitch, dammit, we nearly drew!"

"I had faith," Scorpius replied drowsily, the potion easing the ache in his arm.

Lily threw her hands up in the air. "That is not the - I give up. He's all yours."

Scorpius looked up to see Rose in the tent opening, a green and red scarf around her neck. "I think we won," he told her.

She gave a quiet laugh. "Is he okay?" It took him a moment before he realised she was addressing Madam Longbottom.

"He'll be fine. I've seen worse Bludger injuries in my time, and at least they have me by the stand these days - your uncle could tell you a tale or two about that. Go on. Take him to his adoring public."

That seemed like a good idea; Scorpius slotted his fingers into Rose's outstretched hand, and allowed her to lead him from the tent.

\--

Slytherin morale was high, and everybody was still crowded at the bottom of the pitch, slapping each other on the back. The cheers grew as Scorpius emerged, and nobody else seemed to hold Lily's reservations about how close they had come to a draw. In fact, James was the villain of the piece, coming across as a sore loser for having requested a review. 

Rose's hand tightened in his, but talk soon turned to making fun of Scorpius, as he supposed was inevitable.

"Well, I've never seen a donkey on a broomstick before, so thanks to Malfoy for showing us all how it's done."

"You're not supposed to drink and fly, Malfoy!"

Since it was all relatively harmless, Scorpius ignored it with some effort, and followed the rest of the team towards the dressing room. He was pulled up short by Rose before he could drag her along with him.

"Sorry," he murmured. "I guess that potion hasn't quite worn off yet."

"Sure," she retorted, her eyes alight with mischief. "Blame the potion."

Maybe it was the euphoria of the win, maybe it was the realisation that they only had another month, maybe it was just Rose herself, but Scorpius suddenly couldn't keep himself from leaning down and pressing his lips to hers. He felt her stiffen against him, but then her arms were up by his neck, her soft mouth responsive - this was good. This was a kiss he could see lasting.

Rose pulled away.

"You'd better get changed," she reminded him, but he was rooted to the spot. Her cheeks were high in colour, her hands trembling, and he wanted - he wanted -

She gave him a gentle nudge. "Go. And congratulations."

\--

Scorpius was a hero in his house again that day, and they didn't want to let him forget it. Osbert invited him to sit and talk tactics over dinner. Privately, Scorpius wondered why they couldn't enjoy the win for one day, but then Osbert spoke of recommending him to be the next Quidditch Captain, and that was that. There was a space next to Rose again, but when he looked for her a second time, it had been filled by Albus.

The dampener on his day was Albus's face outside the Great Hall. 

"I'll see you back at the common room," Scorpius muttered.

"See that you do. I hear Smythe has some Firewhisky," Osbert said, nudging Scorpius in a companionable manner as he passed. Scorpius rubbed his shoulder reflexively, his eyes fixed to Albus.

Albus jerked his head, and started walking to the Entrance Hall, a little out of the way of the stream of students. Scorpius caught April's eye, and half-waved to her, before following after his friend.

"Is this about the game?" he asked hesitantly, because yes, he had basically ordered a Bludger attack on Albus, but Albus's cousin had dislocated Scorpius's shoulder. 

"Scorpius, when are you going to get back with April?" Albus demanded. Scorpius took stock; his feet were apart, his arms crossed, and his chin jutted out, challengingly.

"Where is this coming from?" he asked, bemused, before a horrible thought occurred to him. "Is this from Rose? Did she ask you to speak with me?"

Albus's demeanour softened marginally. "Scor, I just - this is getting too complicated. It's been a month. I know I got you two months, but Rosie was only ever willing to do it for one. Really, if it's not worked by now, I think you'd be better off cutting your losses."

Scorpius scrubbed a hand through his hair. Was Albus trying to protect him or Rose? Either way, it was too soon after the kiss to be a coincidence. "No, you're right," he answered, struggling to keep his voice level. Mentally, he chided himself. This had been the agreement, all along. Just an agreement. What use was it to drag things out? "I think - I think April is willing to talk to me again. I'll speak to Rose tomorrow, tell her we can break things off."

"Okay." Albus patted Scorpius on his arm, and a whisper of pain travelled up. "Well done today. No idea how you beat me flying like you were sat backwards on the broom."

"It's a gift." Scorpius tried to smile, and found he couldn't quite manage it. "Actually, I think I'm going to find Madam Longbottom again. See if she can give me something else for my shoulder."

\--

He didn't bother heading up to the Infirmary, instead reasoning that Firewhisky probably contained the same numbing qualities. 

Or it might have if he'd been allowed to drink it.

"Nuh-uh," April said, handing him the significantly safer but less satisfying mead. "You're lucky you even got this much. I checked with my sister, and she says Firewhisky would react badly with the painkiller potion she thinks Madam Longbottom gave you."

"Doubtful," Scorpius protested, looking around for somebody more susceptible. April rarely gave an inch when she set her mind on something like this. "Besides, I'm sure that's worn off by now."

"If you like, we can go ask Madam Longbottom what she thinks of you drinking Firewhisky now," April offered slyly.

And that was it. Game, set, and match to April, who grinned triumphantly when he took a sip of the mead.

"You're awful," he informed her glumly.

" _You_ broke your arm! Imagine how I felt watching," April chided, leading him over to the same sofa that they had shared just yesterday. She lowered her voice, tucking her feet under her. "I was worried for you - I thought you were going to come off your broom."

He placed his free hand on her knee, stroking with his thumb, and watched as she inhaled sharply. It was okay; he wasn't actually dating Rose anyway, he reminded himself. Albus would probably tell her she was free tonight. She'd probably be grateful, all that time to devote to the library again. He'd been a pest, a distraction.

"Aren't you dating Rose?" April whispered, and he was glad that she'd phrased it like that, so that he could give a simple head shake in response. No, they weren't dating. "Oh. I'm sorry."

Scorpius tilted her chin up, closing the gap between them purposefully. She had enough time and space to draw away, but she didn't. For a brief moment, he hesitated, thinking about the other kiss he'd had that day, but then he pushed it firmly out of his mind. "No, you aren't."

"No, I'm not," she answered, and let him kiss her.


	10. Write Off

Lily was the one to break the news to Rose. She received five minutes of an unrestrained rant, more swearwords than she'd ever heard in her life, and some side story about Edgecombe distracting Lily and keeping her out of the common room before Rose understood.

Scorpius was back with April.

Realisation came scant moments before the couple entered the room, hand-in-hand, and headed for the Slytherin table. Lily stood, but Rose held her cousin in place firmly, willing herself not to cry. She'd known - she'd _known_ all along what this was actually about. Scorpius didn't owe her any warning. But it would have been nice - then she wouldn't have saved his usual space, wouldn't have seated herself opposite the Slytherin table without further thought.

"It's okay, Lily, I already knew," Rose said, lying through her teeth. She wasn't going to react; not here in the Great Hall. This was going to have to be considered later. "But I'm going to need you to sit down, and tell me all your best jokes, because otherwise it's going to look very much like Scorpius was the one to break up with me, and we don't want that."

Lily sat down, still visibly seething. "I'm going to coat his mattress in itching powder," she said, and her lips stretched into a smile. "I'm going to snap every twig off his broomstick. I'm going to glue his bed to the ceiling. All his quills are going to write backwards. I'll make Celestina Warbeck play on loop in his head for eternity."

"I think you're the most terrifying person I've ever met," Rose said slowly, trying and failing to plaster a grin to her face.

"That means a lot," Lily answered, "but I'm just warming up."

\--

She was lounging in the Gryffindor common room when Scorpius entered. Up until that point, she had been even enjoying herself, indulging in a tense game of Wizard Chess with Albus (obviously she'd won), and playing Exploding Snap with Roxanne (who'd singed her collar, but Rose and Lily assured her that the blackened mess was preferable to the frills anyway). She had not expected him here, and the last card fell from her fingers.

Tension thrummed through the room as the Gryffindors registered his presence, and James stood, blocking Scorpius's path to Rose.

"I think you've done enough, Malfoy," he said firmly, and Rose was overwhelmed by affection for her family.

For a moment, she was awfully tempted to let James scare Scorpius off. James could probably do with the ego boost following yesterday's match, and Scorpius's eagerness to be far away from the Weasley clan was tangible. Then, he stood his ground, and said, "I know. But I'd like to speak with Rose anyway, if I may."

It was brave of him to come looking for her in the lion's den, and although she wanted to nurse her wounds a little longer, she also didn't want him to know how bothered she was by the whole thing. So, she got to her feet, and told James in a clear, strong voice that she wouldn't be long, and watched Scorpius shrink a little further into himself. It was strangely unsatisfying.

"I'm an idiot," he said, as soon as she'd shut the portrait hole behind her.

He looked the same as he had the previous day - perhaps a little more drawn - but the space in between them felt foreign now. All her questions, quelled in the presence of her family, bubbled to the surface. Had he been building up to this? Was that why he hadn't sat with her at dinner yesterday? Was it her - was she terrible at kissing?

Enough. Rose exhaled, feeling for her words with caution. "I would have liked to have known sooner," she admitted, leaning against the bannister. Casual. She could be casual. They were supposed to be able to be friends now, or Albus's plan would go to waste. "But it's what we were working towards, after all. I just didn't know you were so - close."

That was the main problem, really. If she'd kept the April dialogue open with him, she wouldn't feel so foolish now - wouldn't keep thinking of all the ways she could have protected herself sooner. All the ways she could not have kissed him on the Quidditch pitch.

"We weren't," Scorpius replied, crossing his arms in front of himself. It came as a relief to know that it _hadn't_ been brewing underneath her the whole time. That, maybe, she had been Rose in her own right, and not merely a device to get April back. "It was just - well, Friday night, I thought, maybe. Not before then, I promise."

Friday night. Before Saturday afternoon. Right.

She was _not_ going to cry.

"That's, well, that's-" Her arms slipped as the staircase began to move beneath her. She stepped up onto the top platform hurriedly, and was crowded by Scorpius.

Great.

"Scorpius, I think you should go," Rose said, trying to inject some of James's strength into her tone.

He looked a little lost, stepping back from her. It wasn't her place to try and make him feel better (he had a _girlfriend_ for that now, a real one), and she laced her hands together behind her back. "Right. I'm sorry - I mean, did I say I was sorry? I'm sorry, anyway. For wasting your time." He waved a hand around. "You know. For all of it."

"Rose?" The portrait had swung aside to reveal Albus.

Rose climbed through the portrait hole without a backward glance.

\--

"This is not what I had in mind when you said you needed help with your Defence homework," Rose hissed.

Lily laughed. "No, I know - like I would ever make you do anything so boring. Agnes has probably already finished my homework by now. Anyway-" she cut across Rose's protests "-I think it's time for you to choose. Butterfly Wings or Wizochoc?"

"What?"

There was a thump, as though Lily had thrown down her backpack, and then Lily shouted, " _Lumos_ ," and the passageway behind the old witch was illuminated, the wand-light directed into small glass balls. "So," Lily said, having also had the presence of mind to bring a blanket (somebody in Slytherin was probably missing it right that minute) to cover the cold earth. "Butterfly Wings or Wizochoc? Or both. You can have both if you'd like."

"Lily." Rose sighed, rubbing a hand across her face. It had been a very long day already, and all she wanted to do was curl up in bed with a book. That was going to have to wait, clearly, notwithstanding the fact that Grace would probably haul her out of the dormitory. Grace appeared to have taken the break-up personally, like everybody else in Rose's life. "I'm going to need you to explain what we're doing here."

"I can tell you what we're not doing here, and that's eating sweets," Lily answered, biting the head off a fudge fly. Rose's face obviously spoke volumes, and Lily relented, patting the blanket next to her. "I thought it would be nice to cheer you up a bit. You looked miserable after Malfoy interrupted Weasley Wars. If it helps, he's probably miserable with Awful April - she's _really boring_ , and not a patch on you."

The cold passageway was not Rose's idea of a fun Sunday afternoon at the best of times. The library was warm, her friends were rallying to her (if a little on the suffocating side of things), and she needed to figure out the rest of her Transfiguration essay before Neville gave her more homework on Monday. Lily's face was earnest, though, and - well, it wouldn't hurt to put Transfiguration off another day. Rose gave in and sat cross-legged opposite her cousin. "I hope you've packed some Chocoballs, or I'm off."

"Like I would have dared come without them." Lily pulled a packet out of her bag, as Rose was stacking her books either side of them. "Rose, I'm sorry, you know. I know you were really starting to like him. And I know he really likes you, too. We can get April out the way again, I swear I can do it."

Rose focused her attention on warming the books up and hoping the heating spell would not cause them to catch fire. She had received enough lectures from her parents on demonstrating with her books before - it just so happened that sometimes, they were the only thing around on which she could practise. Once she was satisfied the chill was lessening in the frigid air around them, she was forced to address Lily. It would be easiest to leave her cousin in the dark. But Lily had gone to all this trouble for Rose and, really, Rose had no one to blame but herself for her current predicament. "Lily, that - that is a very kind suggestion, but it isn't necessary. Scorpius and I... he was never actually my boyfriend. Al asked me to do him a favour, and pretend to date Scorpius for a while so he could date April again." She waved a dismissive hand. "As you can see, it worked."

Lily's mouth dropped open, and Rose watched as she turned the past month over in her mind. " _Rosie_. You sly... I can't believe you fooled me all that time! I can't believe you let Malfoy touch you, and you weren't even dating! I can't believe I was _nice to him_."

"You weren't that nice to him," Rose said, the corners of her mouth twitching.

Evidently, Lily was contemplating all the terrible things she'd missed out on doing to Scorpius. "That's true. But still! Why do you listen to Al's awful ideas, and never do anything I suggest?"

"Last time I listened to you, Nana's wireless exploded."

"And I think we can both agree that it improved Christmas Day for everybody."

Rose bit back a smile. It wouldn't do to encourage her.

Lily fumbled with her backpack, pulling out the Butterfly Wings. "Uncle George says he used to make these fly at school; says that was his Valentine's Day trick. _Wingardium Leviosa_." The wings on the top shivered, and then took to the air, its sugary coating glinting in the dim light. 

"Is he the one who told you to come here?"

Lily nodded, leaning back on her hands, and watching the wings hover. "It's useful if I want to go off Map. I mean, I also took the Map from James's dormitory today, so that helped too. All in aid of a little peace and quiet for you - I'm so glad that you were lying to me and didn't actually need it."

Well. She deserved it, but the barb certainly didn't make Rose feel any better. "I - I'm sorry, Lily. I just - I thought it would be easier if fewer people knew."

There was a pause as Lily stretched out for the flapping wings. "That's fair enough. I mean, if it had been me, I probably would have come to some arrangement that _didn't_ mean I was snogging Scorpius Malfoy outside the Quidditch changing rooms, when I thought no one else could see me."

A rush of heat swamped Rose; she pushed her sleeves up, swallowing hard.

"Right before he got back with his ex-girlfriend. Which, apparently, you knew was going to happen. Probably wasn't the best idea if you're faking the whole thing."

Lily's gaze was stern and Rose couldn't bring herself to meet it. "I-" The words wouldn't come. She closed her eyes.

"Oh, Rosie," Lily said, wrapping her up in a hug. "I'm sorry - I didn't mean to upset you. Honestly, I didn't. I just - I don't understand you. Can't you tell Malfoy?"

Rose shook her head, swiping her fingers under her eyes. "I'm fine - no, really, I'm fine. I was dealing with it all, and then he _kissed me_ , and I thought, maybe, but obviously he doesn't feel the same way. I'm fine."

"You said that," Lily pointed out, giving her a very Lily-like look. Whatever she was plotting, Rose hoped that she had no part in it. She'd had her fill of Slytherin schemes. The thought slipped away as Lily exclaimed, "Oh, Merlin, did _Hugo_ know before me? I know he's your brother and everything, but _Rose_ , that is uncalled for!"

\--

Sweets with Lily had brightened her mood again - the only brief difficulty arising as they stared back up the stone slide before Lily recalled Uncle George's rope ladder. Rose was crossing her fingers for a quick meal and early bedtime, but halfway through her spaghetti carbonara, Grace kicked her in the shin.

" _Ouch_ , Grace, what-"

A throat cleared from behind her; she turned to find the last person she wanted to speak to. April.

April showed none of Rose's disinclination, and slipped between Rose and Max, forcing the Ravenclaws to shuffle apart. "I won't stay. I brought your things back from Scorpius," she said gently, passing a bag over. It clunked onto the table-top; Rose noted she hadn't enchanted it. April's tone took on a fond note, causing Rose's stomach to sink a little further. "He's a bit awful - I didn't know if these were things you might need, and he tends to avoid uncomfortable situations, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to give them back to you. Also to see if _we_ were okay." Rose's eyes darted up to meet April's. "I didn't want to inadvertently have upset you. I know the timing was... difficult."

"I'm fine," Rose replied, wondering if she should stitch it into her robes to save people the trouble of asking. She had the feeling she'd be devoting long hours to the library in the near future, just to escape conversations like this one. "But thank you."

April gave her a wide, relieved smile, and returned to the Slytherin table.

"Why did you let him take your things?" Grace asked, curiously.

"I didn't think I had," Rose replied, unknotting the string. The bag was full with something, at any rate. Had April seized the opportunity to get rid of her least favourite of Scorpius's belongings? "She must have been mistaken. I-" She paused, pulling out a handful of pages, scrawled over in familiar writing. Very familiar writing. "This is my Defence essay - no, it's a _copy_ , I tore this page." She pressed her fingers to her lips, something beginning to dawn on her. "My Transfiguration notes. Charms. A letter - _a letter I wrote to my dad yesterday_." Her voice cracked, and she looked up at her friends, incredulous. "How did he- I don't understand."

Max leaned over, rifling through the bag. "I'd say somebody's charmed your quills. Or your ink. Quills would be easier, though."

It was the only thing that made sense, but how _could_ he? All her essays, all her careful notes for class, no wonder he'd never laid nib to paper in front of her. He'd never needed to whilst she was doing all the work for him. Somehow, it felt like more of a betrayal than showing up hand-in-hand with April that morning. Had he orchestrated the April scheme to gain better access to her work? How long had it been going on?

Long enough, anyway. Rose yanked her three quills out of her own bag, hands trembling. She snapped the first. 

Grace put her hand over the second. "Hang on a moment. Firstly, it looks bad. But let's make _absolutely sure_. Because if it is him - don't you want to send him a little message?"


	11. You'd Think I'd Be Happy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the reviews, kudos, and mostly for sticking with this! :) Thanks as ever to Lisa!

The successful execution of a plan typically brought Scorpius satisfaction.

This time, however, something was off. He wasn't certain lying on his bed would bring him the answer, but it was better than being the recipient of sly Weasley elbows when he _did_ leave the safety of his dormitory.

" _There_ you are," April's disembodied voice announced. He made no move to greet her, and perhaps deserved the shove he received in return. Scorpius allowed her to nudge her way onto the bed, but he closed his eyes as she propped herself up, facing him. "You," she said, and her voice left little room for interpretation of her current mood, "look more like somebody who has broken up with his girlfriend, rather than got back together with her."

He threw an arm over his face, his nose tucked into the crook of his elbow. "I think you'll find I've done both," he said. She didn't know, after all.

Except - "Oh, _please_. You think you can be rude to everybody and still have them keep your secrets?"

It wasn't hard to figure out what she meant, not with Francis's bed scant feet away. So, it was all out in the open, then. Scorpius couldn't bring himself to be annoyed by Francis. Really, he should have expected it. He dragged himself up in bed, pulling his knees up to his chest. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have tricked you like that," he mumbled.

April leaned her head back to look up at him. "Well, no, you shouldn't have," she said frankly, "but it's worse that you gave me the impression you wanted to be with me again, when clearly you have no interest in that."

He swallowed tightly. There it was. He had behaved badly towards everybody, but April had suffered twice over. "April - I-"

"Yes, I think you're an idiot, too. I'm not sure why you'd rather be Weasley's pretend boyfriend than my real one, but there you have it." She hauled herself up, turning her back on him. "Word of advice, though, if you're planning on trying to get her back, a nice face-to-face conversation to find out if that's what she would also like - I think that would go down a treat. No more schemes; you're terrible at them, anyway."

Scorpius pulled his pillow over his face, contemplating how long he could stay put in this dormitory. "Her whole family hates me," he said, muffled. There was an odd form of parallel in how April was now giving him advice on how to deal with Rose, but he couldn't quite bring himself to think on it yet.

"They hated you anyway," April replied, ever practical. "I don't recall that bothering you before. Certainly _my_ Scorpius - er, the Scorpius I knew - would have taken pride in irritating the damned lot of them."

He contemplated that briefly, but it was so much easier when he hadn't cared. He was aware that Rose's family mattered to her, and so, in a way, he had begun to also consider them. "I guess things have changed." He wrapped his arms around his pillow, hugging it to him instead. "April, I'm really sorry, you know. For all of it. Not being a good boyfriend in the first place, then all this mess."

Momentarily, April seemed on the brink of tears, but then her mouth firmed and she ruffled his hair affectionately. "It's okay. I guess it was stupid of me to force things when I could tell how you felt about Rose. Doesn't mean you're not the worst."

"My, isn't this cosy?"

Caught up in April, Scorpius had entirely missed Roxanne entering. He slumped back against his headboard, no longer cushioned by the pillow, wondering how he had incurred the Weasley wrath to the extent that they would even chase him into his bedroom. 

April made a hasty retreat, and Scorpius's eyes followed her longingly out the door. Roxanne shut it firmly behind her.

"These are the gloomiest rooms I've ever been in," Roxanne said, peering critically out of the window.

Actually, Scorpius loved the Slytherin dormitories, and found them both spacious and beautiful, but he supposed if one were accustomed to all the natural light Gryffindor Tower offered, the dungeons might look a little dull in comparison. "If you're going to hex me, get on with it already."

"I _should_ ," Roxanne agreed, perching on Francis's bed. "I find myself so confused by all the dating and not dating that seems to have been going on, that you've got yourself a reprieve for the moment. No, Malfoy, I'm here to figure out what to do now your girlfriend's kindly landed us in hot water."

"She's not my girlfriend," he replied, before realising that wasn't the pertinent part of Roxanne's statement. If Roxanne had sought him out, things must be pretty bad. "Bugger. What did she do?"

"Obviously, she told Rose about the notes," Roxanne snapped. "Why you had to tell her about it in the first place is beyond me. I _told_ you it had to just be the two of us. Nobody else."

Scorpius jumped to his feet, heading for his case, his heart hammering. "I didn't, I swear." He pulled a sheaf of parchment out, reading only, _Did you think I wouldn't find out?_ And there it was. The worst of him? He rocked back onto his heels, pressing his fingers to his lips. "Roxanne..."

She was crouching behind him, reading over his shoulder. "She always was the most polite out of all of us. Merlin, what a mess."

He sat down abruptly, twisting so his back was against the case. This was an unmitigated disaster. Scorpius had never really allowed himself to consider what would happen if Rose discovered them. He hadn't cared enough initially, and then the thought had been too awful. It had, if he were honest, been easier to block it out completely. 

He could feel bile rising at the back of his throat. Why hadn't he locked the case, or just - just not copied Rose's notes in the first place?

Scorpius hadn't really known Rose at the time, that was the thing. He'd viewed her as a textbook. It was rare that personal notes would creep in (apparently, her father liked to buy her the most ridiculous quills possible, too cumbersome for much beyond letters home, and Roxanne would never bewitch those), and he'd never cared for any that had.

His partner-in-crime mimicked his position, sitting cross-legged on the floor. "Come on, Malfoy. I'm going to need one of your clever Slytherin ideas, except not the kind that winds up with you dumping the girl you actually like."

"Not really in the mood, Weasley," muttered Scorpius, running his fingers through his hair. She was right, though. Everything had been great right up until Saturday evening, and then he'd blown it all. Too stung after the talk with Albus to really take a second to breathe. "Look, there's no sense in us both going under for this. She's more likely to think I acted alone. I'll apologise to her, and deal with whatever happens."

Roxanne stared at him for a moment. "That is the worst plan I ever heard. Besides, I already told her I was involved. Look, here, have some gum. My dad says it helps him think."

"You have no idea how little inducement that is," Scorpius replied dryly.

Roxanne rolled her eyes at him, and took a stick of red gum from the pile in her hand. Pointedly, she popped it in her mouth, and began chewing.

With little to lose, as he saw it, Scorpius chose a green stick.

"That's more like it," Roxanne said warmly, as he bit down on it. "Terrible idea to trust me, though. The green ones are still being trialled; afraid at the very least, you'll wind up with a green tongue for a few days. But watch this." She tipped her head back, and blew out a perfect scarlet smoke ring, which hovered in the air for a moment, before dissipating.

A green tongue was the least of his worries. Scorpius puffed out a string of half-formed smoke rings. "I'm not going to change my mind," he told her. "I - _we_ shouldn't have copied the notes, and we need to apologise. Anything beyond that is up to Rose."

Roxanne scrutinised him for a moment, before grinning. "Attaboy, Malfoy. Lily thought we'd need to be in here for at least another hour before you suggested anything like an apology. I must say, I was looking forward to hearing some of your schemes, but never mind. The problem really is that Rose isn't actually speaking to me right now, and I'm not sure you're going to get a warmer reception."

Scorpius groaned. Really, he was a master of disastrous situations. "Even so, I've got to try, at least."

"Spoken like a true Gryffindor," Roxanne said tartly, and he pulled a face at her. "Come on. Lily will track her down for us."

\--

Lily did, to Scorpius's surprise. They found Rose out on patrol, down a third-floor corridor.

"You should all be in bed," she said evenly, her eyes fixed on Lily.

Even when they'd been on good terms, she hadn't appreciated him intruding on her prefect duties, but he had to take his chance whilst he had it. "Rose, please, can we talk?"

She pinched the top of her nose, and sighed. "Fine. You two go to bed, though. I don't want to see either of you again tonight."

Dismissed, her cousins left as subdued as Scorpius had ever seen them, but they could have trampled over him, and he wouldn't have cared. He found his hands were trembling, and he tucked them behind his back. He'd seen Rose once since the kiss, and things seemed to keep getting worse. He kept making things worse. Things would be a lot better if he'd just stop careering around like a hippogriff on the loose.

"Can - do you mind if we sit?" He perched gingerly on the steps leading up to Arithmancy, leaving enough room for her, though she chose to remain standing. That was fine, though. He hadn't really expected her to squeeze in next to him; he was more concerned his knees might give way. "I, er, I don't know what you already know, but I'll start at the beginning."

And he did, sketching out the Potions group assignment that had left him and Roxanne at each other's throats. Neither of them had any sort of notes from which to draw, and they'd wasted class attempting to get the other in trouble. It had been Scorpius's idea, since the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff Potions lesson followed later that week. Roxanne, he assured Rose, had taken some persuading. They'd bewitched Rose's quills, and thus 'borrowed' her notes. After the assignment ended, it, well, it had already proved to be successful, so why not continue? Scorpius would make copies of the class notes for Roxanne - it had seemed harmless enough. 

He swore on his life that he hadn't used any of the notes since he'd befriended her, and surely the amount of time they spent studying together attested to that. He blew his cheeks out, wondering if it was best that she'd stayed silent whilst he related everything to her (to his knees, really), and then finished with, "I'm sorry. I wish I'd never done it. If I could take it back - you have no idea how much I want to be able to turn back the clock."

"All right." Rose folded her arms across her chest, her face set.

"All - all right?" His voice cracked, but it was hard to care. He was somewhere between incredulous and wary, as he finally managed to look up at her. It couldn't - it couldn't be this easy.

It wasn't.

"All right; you're sorry," Rose acknowledged, her eyes shining. If she cried, he wasn't sure he'd be able to hold back. "I know that. But that doesn't change anything. You must see that, Scorpius. All right, you didn't care about me when you put the spell on. All right, I was never supposed to find out. All right, maybe you didn't use the notes when we got to know each other better." She leaned forward, voice firm. "But you did it. You still did all of that to me, and when you say you stopped, you still didn't tell me about it."

It was true. Scorpius buried his face in his hands, briefly overwhelmed by self-loathing, and when he looked up, she was gone.

\--

"You look _awful_ ," Lily pronounced. "Well. They say that misery loves company, so here I am. Roxy - quit flirting, look at him. He barely knows how to put his underpants on in the morning."

Usually, the sight of Lily bringing her older cousin to heel would have amused Scorpius, even as Roxanne left the Hufflepuff in question without protest. Instead, he ground his spoon further into his porridge.

"Don't worry; nobody likes me either," Roxanne informed him, sliding into the space opposite. "Got a long lecture from James about how it's 'just not on', right in front of my dorm-mates. You know, that's pretty mashed up already?"

Scorpius glowered at her and then sighed, pushing the bowl away from him. "Look, not that I don't appreciate you coming to sit with me and everything, but I really don't think this is going to help your case with Rose."

"Nothing is going to help my case with Rose right now," Roxanne answered, taking a plate of scrambled eggs from the Slytherin next to her. "I was in it as much as you. And besides, I want to see how long it takes for the green to wear off your tongue."

It was a sign of how low Scorpius felt that he wasn't even tempted to stick the offending body part out at her.

"Well, you didn't forget to let your fake girlfriend know that you were back with your real girlfriend, Roxy," Lily put in, sipping her tea. She fixed her eyes on Scorpius over the mug. "I'd _really_ like to know what you were thinking when you pulled that one."

Perhaps Scorpius preferred it when Rose's family weren't speaking to him. "I thought I was doing the right thing for her," he mumbled to the tabletop, head in his hands.

"Of course you did," Lily agreed, and this was such an unexpected show of support that Scorpius looked up, "because you're stupid. Anyway, I have Charms homework to collect, so I'll be on my merry way. If you two need to be kept out of trouble this evening, I'll be on the Quidditch pitch." 

It was an unappealing offer, which looked better as the day wore on. Care of Magical Creatures saw Albus turn his back on Scorpius, choosing instead to pair up with Rose's friend Max ( _Max_ \- Albus had definitely laughed at Scorpius's impression of him the other day... hadn't he?). The wisdom of Scorpius's decision to try to take the same classes as Rose in order to continue using her notes, such a bonus in the past month, bore in on him through Potions, but at least Roxanne came to join him in exile during Defence.

"I think we're supposed to be suffering separately," he whispered to her, catching Albus's disapproving look.

"How green is your tongue now?" Roxanne asked instead, peering into his mouth, and making a note in her diary.

After that, it seemed only natural to follow Roxanne to the Quidditch pitch. There was a moment of hesitation as he recalled not only that Roxanne was a Beater, and therefore practise would be more physical than when Albus joined them, but that she had dislocated his shoulder in the last match. She probably wouldn't do it again, though.

Probably.

"You know, the worst thing we could do right now is to let our schoolwork slip as a result of this," Roxanne told him, pulling on a pair of trainers. Lily was already circling the hoops, yelling instructions which were carried away on the wind (doubtless for the best). "We'll have to work out what to do about the library."

Scorpius scrubbed his face with his hands. "Seems a bit of a lose-lose scenario," he answered, finding that Lily had brought him Lucretia Bulstrode's Quidditch robes _again_. School robes it was. "Either we do well on our own, and prove that we didn't need her notes, or we prove we did need the notes." He also didn't like to think what would happen were he instrumental in Rose getting banned from the library a further time.

"Malfoy. Don't be ridiculous," Roxanne said flatly. "Maybe your brain has shrivelled from lack of use in the last week, but I know you have one. Don't think I wasn't paying attention during our study sessions, just because it amuses me to throw things at you." She held her hands up when he looked at her. "I'm a Beater! I need to practise. Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Stop talking," he said slowly, "I'm thinking."


	12. November Blues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this has taken an absurdly long time! The next chapter shouldn't be anywhere near so far away. Thank you so much for the comments and kudos! I really appreciate them!

Autumn had well and truly faded into winter, and Rose felt the quiet resonating through her life. It was peaceful, and she enjoyed having the freedom to pursue her lines of enquiry in the library, but sometimes she was a little too aware of Scorpius and Roxanne's absence.

Not that she wanted to do anything about that, exactly. Albus and Hugo occupied her well enough, even if she did occasionally think how differently Roxanne might have addressed a situation. Scorpius was too new to miss. She shouldn't miss him. Didn't miss him. Her life was so much easier now.

Yet, however much she might feel the relief herself, she was conscious that Albus was still shunning his friend on her behalf. Now the anger had (mostly) dissipated, Rose wondered if she should give him a little nudge.

The opportunity arose on a Friday evening; Albus wouldn't usually have invited her into the Gryffindor common room for a game of chess. He'd have been too busy trying to persuade somebody to fly with him, and a recent Quidditch loss would only increase his efforts.

"Do you miss him?" she asked quietly, lining up her queen. She was, if she were honest, partly looking to distract Albus; the Potters usually played dirty during board games. When called on it, Aunt Ginny protested that it wasn't her fault she was able to both talk and play chess, whilst Rose's father glowered, and Uncle Harry hid his smirk behind Aunt Ginny's shoulder.

(Rose and Hugo often teamed up to beat Aunt Ginny after that)

"I haven't forgiven him," Albus answered instead, using his knight to bolster his bishop.

She swept his rook out of the way, unwilling to let her queen hack the rook to pieces since the set had been her father's, and was growing unusually prone to violence. "I wouldn't mind if you did, you know. Or Rox. I'm not saying _I'm_ going to forgive them," she added hastily, as his eyes met hers. "I'm simply letting you know that if you wanted to, I wouldn't mind."

Albus didn't respond then, beyond his triumphant, "Hah!" as he claimed one of her bishops, not noticing that left his queen vulnerable to attack. Rose abandoned the subject in favour of more pressing matters, but a few days later, found herself a little numb witnessing Albus clapping Scorpius on the back in the middle of the Entrance Hall. It was almost as though nothing had happened, and both boys were grinning. She dug her fingers into her arm, blinking back ridiculous tears. Ridiculous. She had essentially orchestrated this.

Scorpius's face fell as his eyes met hers, and Rose turned away. Right. Now that had been dealt with, she'd received Exceeds Expectations on her latest Potions essay, and it was time to find out why.

\--

"Potions is not Arithmancy, Miss Weasley; one does not become proficient simply through playing by numbers," Professor Tomkins intoned, though he did not cease in the preparation of what Rose suspected was a Confusing Concoction.

Even though his attention was not on her, Rose resisted the urge to pull a face. "I've been getting Os for the last few assignments, sir, I don't understand the difference."

"Imagination, or lack thereof," Professor Tomkins said languidly. "If you want my advice, I'd resume having Malfoy as a potions partner." He paused in his slicing, and in response to whatever Rose's expression was, added, "Or try Homework Club. I understand it's for the lower years, but perhaps the fresh perspective will assist."

It was, perhaps, a little ironic that Rose's marks had fallen without Scorpius; she wondered if he were similarly afflicted. She hoped, maybe spitefully, that he had been.

No; that was uncharitable. The thought process was probably Professor Tomkins's fault. Confusing Concoctions must be potent even in the process of being assembled.

She glanced at the empty cauldron, and hurried out without asking.

\--

The situation blew from bad to worse through the week, and Rose found herself the subject of a few concerned looks, and more than a few kindly-meant words. Trying to recover her former Potions glory had led to the collapse of her delicate non-verbal Charms wand-work, and her eyes had drifted on a few occasions in class to Albus - or, more accurately, to Albus and Scorpius.

Tired of the castle, she Summoned her warmest cloak ( _how's_ that _for silent spells?_ she thought savagely), and fled to the grounds. She hesitated, on the brink of heading to the greenhouses, but suspected she might actually cry if she saw Uncle Neville at that point. If James spotted her out on her own on the Map, he would doubtless send a search party, so... Hagrid it was.

As last resorts go, Hagrid's cottage wasn't a bad choice. He didn't ask any uncomfortable questions, or offer sympathetic looks, simply set a steaming mug of tea down in front of her.

"Got a batch of Crups come in yesterday," he said abruptly, pausing to pet his own oversized hound, Bertie. "Don't s'pose you'd like to come an' have a look-see?"

Rose scrambled out of the chair. "Oh - yes!"

"Calm yerself," Hagrid chuckled. "Take a seat - or have a peek in the kitchen. Reckon I've still got some cakes leftover. I'll be right back."

Forewarned by her parents about Hagrid's baking skills long before she even set foot in Hogwarts, Rose sank back into the armchair, mug in hand. She should really have sought Hagrid out before now - she'd barely been here this term. But then, since she'd given up Care of Magical Creatures after her OWLs, there hadn't seemed to be any point.

Glumly, she suspected it was this kind of blinkered thinking that had led to the drop in her marks.

Hagrid returned with a crate filled with Crup puppies; she hurried to hold the door open for him as he carried them into the cottage. "Fer the third years," he explained, setting his armful down on the floor. "They're a right handful, they are."

Unclear as to whether he meant the students or the dogs, but not especially caring either way, Rose got to her knees, holding her fingers out for the more inquisitive pups to sniff. They'd already had their forked tails severed, probably a month or so ago if she were judging their ages correctly. One particularly bold dog clambered over the backs of her fellows, and flung herself into Rose's lap; surprised, Rose laughed.

"Tha's more like it, Rosie," Hagrid said encouragingly, tossing a handful of chews amongst the puppies. "Hadn't seen a face like that since yer mother used to come an' visit me."

The Crups, Rose realised mournfully, had been a ruse. She took the chew Hagrid was offering her and tried to persuade the pup in her lap that it was tastier than Rose's coat. "I'm having trouble with Potions," she confessed, scratching the Crup behind the ears. "Professor Tomkins says that I have no imagination."

"Never met a Potions teacher who didn't go an' stick his nose in every pot he came across," Hagrid replied cheerfully. Whilst Rose was still trying to untangle his comment in her head, he patted her on the back, a little too heartily for the gesture to be consoling. "Can't say I've met the Weasley who let a teacher get the better of them, neither. Tell ye what. Take yer time with those pups - mind they don't get in Bertie's way, though, he won't like tha'. I'll make us a fresh pot."

Another puppy made a break for freedom; Rose returned her lapful to the crate, and picked up the liberated canine. Disconcerted at being airborne, the puppy yipped at her, and wriggled in her grip. "You are a handful!" she remonstrated, carrying him over to her armchair. Despite the crashing noises from the kitchen area, she was reasonably sure that Hagrid _was_ just making tea, so she sat the Crup in her lap, and scratched behind his ears. "No biting," she warned, taking her fingers out of reach in the nick of time.

"Should've let them grind their teeth down on me third-years firs'," Hagrid said with a grin, reappearing. "Tha's a joke, mind, I've had enough governors down here to last me all my life. Here, I'll take that." In exchange for the puppy, Rose found a piece of paper now in her hands - she'd had better trades. "Think one o' me students left it earlier."

It was a leaflet for the Homework Club Professor Tomkins had recommended. _Confunded by Charms? Up in arms about Arithmancy? Puzzled over Potions? Let us help you!_ "I've never heard of this," she said absently, noting the date of the next meeting was that evening, after dinner.

"Well now, seems it came at the right time," Hagrid said, beaming, not appearing to notice the puppy gnawing on his boot.

\--

Rose wasn't intending on going to Homework Club. All through dinner, she'd persuaded herself that she was going to scan over her last few assignments for Potions to try and discern the difference for herself. She'd even set them out in the library, expressly for that purpose.

She couldn't settle down to work. After tapping her quill against the desk and receiving a deathly glare from Max in return, she packed up her books and fled to the Charms classroom. If she hurried, she might be able to catch the last fifteen minutes.

She rapped on the closed door, before poking her head around. "I- oh." 

The classroom was peppered with lower school students - and Roxanne was crouching over what looked like a first-year's desk, demonstrating the Softening Charm. Her wand clattered to the floor as she caught sight of Rose.

"Rosie! How did you know - who told you?"

"I - what are you doing?" Rose began, her eyes lighting on Scorpius, who was standing at the back of the class, looking as thunderstruck as she felt. "I don't understand."

Roxanne's face fell, and she threw a look back at Scorpius. Were they still partners in crime? How had Rose ended up being the one on the outside _again_? "Nigel, just keep practising on your box - remember to really emphasise that first syllable! _Spuh-_. Rose, why don't we step outside for a minute?"

By the time Roxanne had collected her wand and ushered Rose outside, Rose had managed to compose herself. "You're running a homework club."

There was a flash of pride across Roxanne's face; she glanced down at the floor to attempt to disguise it, but Rose knew Roxanne too well. "Look, it's not a - it's not some kind of bait, all right? We're trying to atone for our ill-gotten knowledge - no, sorry, that was flippant. I'm just - I'm really sorry, and doing this makes me feel a little less miserable about going behind your back all that time."

"Going behind my back makes you feel better about having gone behind my back," Rose said, mystified.

"Oh, you know that isn't what I _mean_ , come on, Rosie," Roxanne replied impatiently, crossing her arms over her chest. "I was... that is, we were giving you space, and if we had told you about it, you'd have thought we were trying to pressure you into forgiving us. Which we weren't."

It was a lot, and Rose rubbed her face with her hands. The way Roxanne spoke of herself and Scorpius as a team struck an odd note, almost as though he was fitting into her family's lives right when he no longer fit into hers. "I missed you," she offered quietly. "I don't - please don't ever do that again, even if you think it's harmless. But I missed you."

Her suspicions that Roxanne was crying were confirmed when Roxanne virtually threw herself at Rose, and pressed her face into her cousin's shoulder. "I promise. Not _ever_."

It was as though a weight had lifted, and Rose abruptly had to scrub her sleeves over her own eyes. Funny, how she'd thought she was so unaffected.

"I told Dad," Roxanne blurted out. "I thought - I thought you might want some space over Christmas, and so I 'fessed up."

"What did he say?" Rose asked, out of curiosity more than anything else. She hadn't even thought ahead to Christmas, all the Weasley families pouring into (and spilling out of) the Burrow. The idea that Roxanne _had_ considered it, had even confessed to her crimes knowing that she didn't have to, warmed Rose.

Roxanne chuckled wetly. "Oh, you know. I got a long lecture, and he'd decide whether or not to tell Mum, but either way he was damn sure I would be working in the shop over the break."

If Rose knew anything about her uncle George, he'd be trying to replicate Roxanne's spell work, at the very least. It was easier now to smile it off. Her own father would block anything that came too close to copying other people's notes. Probably.

"Look, we're almost done with the club - would you mind just waiting five minutes whilst I wind it up, and we can get hot chocolate from the house elves?"

It would have been nearly impossible to say no to Roxanne right then; certainly Rose felt no inclination to refuse. She wiped at her eyes again, hoping that her nose wasn't too red, and followed Roxanne back into the classroom.

Where, of course, Scorpius was waiting for her.

He'd finished the club on his own, and the students filed quietly past Rose as she held open the door. Roxanne glanced at Rose, and Rose tilted her head a fraction, indicating that Roxanne should wait outside. She felt the urge to hear Scorpius out - at least then she could move past it.

"This isn't a cry for forgiveness," he began, and then paused. "Well, _Homework Club_ isn't a cry for forgiveness."

"So I've heard. With all the practise you've had at apologies, I'm surprised you aren't better at them," Rose said sharply.

It made him flush, and he dropped his gaze, intent on the floor. "Listen, I didn't expect you to come bursting through the door, okay? We tried to make sure you wouldn't find out about it."

"Apparently you're very good at that," she snapped, but regretted it instantly. She leaned against the nearest desk, her hands braced against the table's edges, so he was in view but they were easily able to avoid looking at each other. "Okay." She resisted the urge to say sorry, not wanting to appear weak. "I won't interrupt again."

"We didn't need to use your notes, you see," Scorpius continued, not acknowledging her interjection. "I think that's the worst part about it - we were lazy. If we hadn't been, if we'd genuinely needed the help, you would have given it to us. So, we're trying to help students who _do_ need it, who maybe don't want to approach their teachers. Lily's been in and around, sometimes Al drops in, but mostly it's the two of us. We give out leaflets and Professor Bones helped us with the Protean Charm, so we can let everyone know the time of the next meeting."

Something clicked into place, and Rose touched the edge of the leaflet which she'd stuffed into her own pocket. "Did you give them out to all the teachers?"

Bemused, Scorpius nodded, and Rose tried not to smile at the thought of Hagrid trying his hand at puppet mastery. Her lips quirked at the memory of him accusing Professor Tomkins of being nosy, and then she recalled that Professor Tomkins had also suggested Homework Club, when she was clearly more advanced than the target audience. Teachers.

"I'm aware that you didn't come here tonight to make things up with _me_ ," Scorpius carried on, and the trouble was, he really _was_ very good at apologising. "I know that you've done your best to make things easier on everybody else, and I am trying to make things easier on you too, in my way, at least. I, well, I hope you know that I'm sorry, anyway."

She caught his eye at that moment, and he offered her a rueful smile. "You know saying sorry isn't a do-over, don't you?" Rose said earnestly, partly to remind herself.

He sobered, folding his arms over his chest. "I know. And I'll keep staying out of your way, if that's what you want."

It would be easy to let him back in. She could pull out her essays, ask his advice - that was what she'd come for, after all. She could invite him along to her hot chocolate session with Roxanne. They could banter across the table at breakfast again, whilst he flashed her smiles and picked out her favourite dishes for her. She could just say the word.

She didn't. The Homework Club, it was a nice start, but being Scorpius's friend put her in dangerous territory again. Rose wasn't entirely clear on what had happened with April, but she also wasn't prepared to be his filler girlfriend again, just treading water until the real thing came around. 

"I think that would be best," she said quietly, and left.


	13. Be of Good Cheer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really nearly there! Thanks again to Lisa, and all of you!! I was a little nervous about the last chapter, but relieved it went down well, and here's the next! Title from 'It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year' (I have my Christmas hat on).

Scorpius was fortunate that he had plenty to occupy him during the remainder of the term, enough so he only dwelt on the crushing words 'I think that would be best' in the minutes before he fell asleep. And whenever he saw Rose across the Great Hall (Merlin knew he was atoning for his sins, since he was now forced to spend mealtimes with the Gryffindors). Or the few times she came to Homework Club.

He wasn't quite sure what to make of the day it had snowed, and he'd received a face full of snow. He thought maybe she'd been aiming for Albus, but it was hard to tell.

The Hogwarts Express brought a new set of problems, including the reason for his father's tentative knock on his bedroom door later that evening. Scorpius had been luxuriating in a room he wasn't sharing with people he'd grown out of, but clearly Draco intended to disturb Scorpius's sanctuary.

Draco perched himself on the edge of Scorpius's bed, looking every bit as uncomfortable as Scorpius felt. "Do you want to tell me why Weasley said 'See you tomorrow'?"

Here it was. Scorpius aimed for nonchalant and fell short somewhere between 'nervous' and 'diffident'. "Because I'm seeing her tomorrow."

He looked up to find Draco's face perfectly blank. "I see."

Emboldened by the fact that Draco wanted to have this conversation even less than he himself did, Scorpius wriggled up in bed, into a position that would enable him to meet his father's eyes. "Did you come here to ask if I'm _dating_ Roxanne Weasley, Dad?"

Despite it having obviously been on his father's (or his mother's) mind, verbalising it still surprised Draco. "Are you?"

Scorpius grinned, prolonging the moment to take a sip of his water. How Roxanne would laugh if she were here. After expressing her extreme disgust at the very idea, of course. "Maybe I should unpack before dinner," he mused.

"That's a 'no', then," Draco surmised. "Wretched boy. Why _are_ you meeting up with her?"

This was somewhat less enjoyable. Scorpius hesitated, because there were many reasons he could have given up his Christmas holiday to work at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, and he had a feeling his father would find the real one least palatable. But, he wanted to pay penance properly, and that meant not shirking punishment, even if it went against his nature. "Roxanne and I copied her cousin's notes. For, er, for two years. Roxanne's dad said she could work out her sentence in the shop, and I'm doing the same."

"Right." Draco drew the word out, and Scorpius pulled his knees up to his chest, feeling exposed. His father had always excelled at reading him, and he sensed that this time would be no different. "Got to commend Weasley for taking advantage of some good old-fashioned slave labour. You're not in trouble over it at school, are you? No detentions, marks are good?"

"Haven't had anything below Exceeds Expectations for two months," Scorpius said, pleased that he could say so truthfully for once. He couldn't say the same of detentions, and so he evaded the topic. "Roxanne and I started a homework club for the lower years, so the teachers are actually pleased with me for a change."

Draco was silent for a while, before rising. "Scorpius, if this is all to catch yourself a Weasley, well. I'm not going to be the one to tell your grandfather, that's for sure. He'll string you up by your ankles."

It wasn't approval, but it wasn't disapproval either. "Honestly, I don't think you have to worry," Scorpius said, drawing his knees up further, and wrapping his arms around them. "Think I wrecked it."

"Honestly, Scorpius, I do not want to know," Draco said with feeling.

\--

"You look like you consumed our entire stock of Away with the Fairies Dust."

Scorpius started, but at least he was prompted out of staring at the shelves. In his defence, it was his first time in the Diagon Alley branch of Wizard Wheezes, and he had been too preoccupied during his visit to the Hogsmeade branch to pay attention to the wares. Not so, now. His eyes tracked over products such as false vampire teeth, wands which trailed stardust, sweets which promised to alter the cadence of one's voice. In the corner sat a display of dragons like the ones he'd found the Weasleys playing with at Hogwarts, ready for battle. 

"Sorry, er, Mister Weasley."

George Weasley grinned at him, a sharp, pointed edged smile featuring none of the friendliness he'd come to expect from Roxanne in recent weeks. Here, again, he was a Malfoy.

"See anything you like, boy? Got your eye on anything you'd like to tell your father about?"

Ron Weasley chose that moment to make his entrance, arms wrapped around a cage that seemed to be humming. "Come off it, George. Either you put the kid to work, or you tell him to get lost. He's not his father."

It was the nicest thing Rose's father had ever said to (or, rather, about) Scorpius, but it failed to convince George. "You can't deny that he's proven to be something of a mimic," George said. He was addressing Ron, but staring straight at Scorpius, who was beginning to feel as though being ostracised by the school-aged Weasleys had been a blessing. He broke George's gaze, and tucked his hands behind his back, awaiting judgement. "All right, boy. We don't want your face putting off customers, so it's off to the back room with you!"

And Scorpius went, gratefully disappearing through the doors to find Roxanne and two other workers on the other side. To his dismay, George followed him through, steering him to a worktop with a lengthy piece of parchment and a quill already set out.

"Don't worry; we won't make you sign in blood," George said, nudging Scorpius as though divulging a joke. Scorpius looked up, and felt the bottom drop out of his stomach as he noted George's missing ear. "This here is something to make sure you're not going to run off to our competitors with any of our ideas. Got it?"

Scorpius nodded, mouth dry, and scanned through the parchment, a great deal more quickly than he would have preferred, thanks to George breathing down his neck. _I, Scorpius Malfoy (the 'Employee'), of Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire, hereby declare that I am contracted in the service of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes (the 'Employer')..._

"Wait," he said, pausing with his finger beside the copyright section, "'The Employer owns copyright of any work produced by the Employee during the period of employment'? You own the rights to anything _I_ come up with?"

George rested his elbows on the worktop, leaning in to speak in a conspiratorial fashion. "Here's the thing, Malfoy. You're getting work experience with us. We're providing you with an outlet for your creative ideas, which _doesn't_ involve stealing from my darling niece. So, yes, if you come up with anything using my tools and my shop and my daughter as your way in, it's going to belong to me. Is that clear?"

Scorpius answered by way of adding his signature to the document.

"Excellent," George said, rolling up the parchment. "Mitch will take you under his warm and feathery wing. Set him something thoroughly unpleasant, there's a good chap." He paused, hand splayed on the door back into the shopfront. "You know, your father came up with a thing or two, in his day."

He exited, whistling the tune of 'Weasley is our King'.

\--

'Unpleasant' to Mitch meant 'pouring through correspondence', which was, unfortunately, also rather unpleasant to Scorpius. He'd hoped to at least be collecting Bubotuber pus, like Roxanne.

"Sometimes, if there's a problem with one of our products, people write in about it," Mitch explained, pointing Scorpius in the direction of a sack of letters. "The Howlers, for obvious reasons, get dealt with first, but other people are rather less forthcoming about little Jimmy's rash, and write in instead. Your job is to sort through the letters, and write out anything that comes up, so we can see if we need to make any adjustments in the ingredients."

It sounded like dull work - and it was, especially when he had to listen to Roxanne's excited chatter about her work on the Snackboxes over lunch. He tried to buck up and look engaged when he found Ron's eyes on him, before contemplating that maybe the Weasley brothers _wanted_ him to look disheartened.

If he'd thought that they were softening towards him by the end of the second day when Ron allowed him to take a product home 'for testing', that changed when he saw his father's face as he stepped out of the Floo with a pure white ferret.

"Does it bounce?" Draco asked curtly.

Scorpius, feeling a rising sense of foreboding, obligingly tossed the toy up in the air, and all three Malfoys watched it bounce down the hallway, finally coming to a halt at the foot of his great-grandfather's marble bust.

They didn't speak of it again.

\--

The monotony broke on Friday, when Albus's mother swept into the back room. Scorpius was, at that time, counting slug pellets into small piles. His wand itched in his pocket; he would be underage for four more months.

Ginny peered over at his piles, and made a disdainful sound before drawing out her own wand. "Looks like you've finished," she beamed, as the remaining pellets wiggled into place. She was very reminiscent of Lily in that moment, except a Lily who used her powers for good (or, well, _Scorpius's_ good). "Mitch, be a dear and mind the front. I think there's a batch of Bannister Snakes which have gone simply wild."

It would have taken a braver man than Mitch to say no; he abandoned his post by the potions accordingly.

"Perfect," she noted, closing the door with a flick of her wand. "Scorpius, come here. _Somehow_ my darling eldest son got hold of a potion which is obviously still in its early stages. I understand the intention is to give the sensation of flight, and is particularly effective if one stands at a window. Since he spent most of last night practically glued to my kitchen ceiling, I'd say it's not quite there, wouldn't you?"

Scorpius tried not to laugh at that, biting into his inner cheek.

"Don't worry; I told him he's a perfect idiot for trying anything that hadn't gone through the screening process. He knows to always let his idiot uncles test these things first. Right. 'Soar Some'. I think that's the one. Now, I'm afraid my potions skills are rusty and when I asked Harry, he told me that I was mistaken if I thought he was getting involved, and then Al reminded me of your sentence here. Let's see if we can make this up any better than my miscreant brothers, shall we?"

The rest of the day flew by, especially since Ginny had packed a lunch with enough food for two (Roxanne and George being at the Hogsmeade shop that day). Ginny made a note of each suggestion Scorpius made, whether it was fewer Doxy eggs, or a sprinkling of Knotgrass, or Syrup of Hellebore to calm the anxiety Scorpius had seen reported by users of the Skittles Potion.

In fact, Scorpius didn't realise how late it was until a series of thumps sounded from the other room. "GINNY! Open this door _now_."

Ginny gave the cauldron a final stir before getting to her feet, and casually pushing the door open. "Sorry, Ron - did you want something?"

"What possessed you to shut yourself away in my workroom all day? Merlin's beard, have you been tampering with my potions? We'll have to throw that whole batch out - what a waste, just because you're _bored_. Go find someone else to bother."

The air veritably crackled as Ginny drew herself up to her full height. "I've been utilising the abilities of your voluntary worker, _Ronald_. Talk about a waste - counting out slug pellets, for crying out loud!"

"It's supposed to be a punishment," Ron protested, holding his hands up defensively.

"I'd better be off," Ginny said, addressing Scorpius. Furious spots of colour stood out on her cheeks as she let go of the door, Ron diving forward in time to catch it before it closed again. "Don't stay too much longer - but if you do, you might want to ask this one whose notes _he_ copied during his Hogwarts school years." With that, she Disapparated. Scorpius had to admit it was an effective exit, except that she'd left her bag behind.

" _Bugger_ ," Ron said, with feeling. "Malfoy, fetch me a chair? She's spelled the door so it only responds to her touch, and I bet we won't get her back here until after New Year's now."

Scorpius obediently carried a stool over so that Ron could wedge the door open. "I didn't know that was possible."

Ron huffed out a laugh. "She grew up with six brothers, and then married an Auror. Ginny's always been about privacy and protection. I'm lucky the door didn't make me sprout tentacles from my face."

Scorpius snorted, and then wondered if that was the right reaction; from the twist to Ron's mouth, he guessed he was safe.

"I'll have to get Hermione in tomorrow to see if she can do anything with it." He drummed his fingers on the wood. "Look, Malfoy. I appreciate you've made an effort this week; we've set you some pretty grim tasks, and I've not heard you complain. We'll take a look at what you've done today, and think about setting you something else after Christmas."

Hoping not to say anything that might tip the scales out of his favour again, Scorpius took his cloak off its hook. "Thank you."

"If you want Christmas Eve off, you're welcome to - it's traditional that our families come to help, so we tend to let everybody else have the day with their families. If they want," Ron said haltingly, and Scorpius fumbled and dropped his cloak on the floor, because he knew what that meant. "Rose will be here. Look - Merlin, Malfoy, stop dropping things. I'm not condoning your, well, your whatever with my daughter, but since all my friends seem so hellbent on reminding me what an idiot _I_ was at your age, I'd rather stay out of it."

Scorpius was torn; on the one hand, he'd promised to keep away from her, and on the other... "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Suit yourself," Ron said with a shrug.

"How - how much of an idiot were you?" Scorpius asked, hugging his cloak to him. "I mean - I'd like to be friends with her, you know, if that's what she wants, but I was _really_ stupid."

Ron glanced over at him, and barked out a laugh. "Let's just say it's a good thing I got poisoned. I don't recommend it personally. I feel like I'm going to end up regretting this, but you should come tomorrow morning. It's nice, in the shop. Bit cramped, but that's how we Weasleys do things."

"But Rose-"

"Malfoy, you wouldn't even get a toe in the door if I hadn't cleared it with my daughter beforehand. I'm not going to repeat myself; we'll see you tomorrow or, well, we won't. Run along now."

\--

Astoria let him go with some reluctance the following morning, extracting the promise that he would be home in the early afternoon. Scorpius stepped into the fireplace with a pang, but even without Rose, he'd have turned up, with the sense that he was starting to make headway with Ron. The shop intrigued him, and after Ginny's intervention, he was hopeful that his second week would be more fulfilling.

" _Well_ , you must be Scorpius."

His heart stuttered, and it was too late to step back into the haven of the Manor. This was Rose's mother, it must be, and he found Rose easily in her bright eyes and smile. The fireplace was upstairs, in rooms which were mostly used for storage, but Hermione had commandeered one to set up Christmas decorations.

"I like to prepare a few things the Muggle way - it reminds me of Christmases with my parents," Hermione explained. "Unfortunately, my children aren't quite so enthused. Would you like to help me with some paper chains?"

There wasn't really an option. Scorpius's hands were trembling as he reached out for the coloured strips of paper, but he needn't have worried. Hermione was mostly interested in hearing about his time at Hogwarts, and his opinion on practical versus theoretical education. He felt woefully misinformed by the time the last piece was glued in place, but a great deal more settled.

"Time for elevenses, wouldn't you say?" Hermione suggested, her voice grave but her eyes twinkling. "There's a little bakery around the corner; I wonder if you wouldn't mind popping over and picking up our order? This ought to cover the expense."

Scorpius took the pouch from her, feeling the shape of Galleons, if not the weight.

The shop below was a hive of activity. Scorpius could see snow falling from the ceiling, but it appeared to dissolve midair. Christmas carols rang out from a wireless on the front counter. And Rose - Rose sat in the corner, in conversation with Hugo, reindeer antlers poking through her curls. She appeared to be winding up a music box; as she saw Scorpius, her hand stilled and discordant warbling blasted out.

"In this shop, I can't tell if that's broken or intentional," Scorpius said by way of greeting, before wondering if he should have pretended not to have seen her. "Er, I'm off to the bakery."

Ron, preoccupied with a customer, nodded absently, but Rose scrambled to her feet, divesting herself of the antlers in a hurry. "You'll need help," she determined, pushing into the back room (Hermione must have fixed Ginny's mischief) to retrieve her coat and scarf.

"Dad says you've been doing a good job," Rose commented, her tone almost too light as she held the front door open.

Scorpius's attention was momentarily distracted by the pipe above the shop's sign, which churned out bubbles resembling snow globes, each featuring a merry snowman inside. He felt awkward, unsure of whether he could speak casually around her, or whether he should open with another apology. "I mean, I counted out strands of horsehair the other day. They don't use horsehair in any of their products."

Rose giggled, and then clapped her gloved hand to her mouth. It was the first time he'd made her laugh since she'd found out about the notes, even if it was at his own expense. "Sorry. It's in here."

'Here' was a cafe which had the appearance of being carved out of gingerbread, icing dripping from the roof tiles. Scorpius set his hand on the gumdrop handle, and pushed open the door. The tintinnabulation of the bell drew the owner's attention, and she smiled and waved merrily at Rose. 

It might be the only chance he got with Rose until they were back at Hogwarts; he took a deep breath and, hands clenched tightly in his pockets, asked, "Will you - would you - can we just, you know. Sit and have a drink?"

He thought she might be on the verge of laughter, but when he managed to look up, her face was entirely solemn, her eyes wide. "I - sure, that's fine. Maggie, may we have two Snowman Hot Chocolates?"

This might be the most awkward moment of Scorpius's life, and he'd spent the last week in the company of people who made it clear what little they thought of him. He sat, heart in his throat, watching as she unwound her scarf and unbuttoned her coat to reveal the knitted jumper beneath. He wasn't quite sure how he'd go with divesting himself of his own clothing, and so he thought it better to chance being overheated.

When it became obvious that she was expecting him to speak, he knotted his fingers together in his lap, and blurted out, "I miss you. I, well, I know I don't have the right to ask it - anything, anything of you, and I'm not. I just want you to know how important you are - were - are to me."

Maggie brought their drinks over then, giving Rose an opportunity to collect herself before responding. "I think maybe, no, definitely. I definitely think you should explain yourself, because one minute, you're kissing me, and it's not for - it doesn't seem to be to get April back, see, and then you blank me at dinner and show up at breakfast with April on your arm. I feel like I missed a step."

His hot chocolate was a visual masterpiece - snowmen made out of cream and decorated with chocolate were tossing miniature marshmallows to one another - but he couldn't appreciate it at that moment, and his spoon ruthlessly tore through the play area. He wasn't even sure he'd be able to drink it, with nausea settled deep in his stomach, but he brought it to his lips and made out he was sipping so he had a little time to think. "I realised I was taking liberties when I kissed you, and I shouldn't have. I know you were only pretending to be my girlfriend, and I know you had to be blackmailed even into doing that much. I'm sorry for forcing you into spending time with me, and, and not letting you know when I ended it. If you can believe it, I actually thought you'd be relieved." He paused. "And I think you'd like Celestina Warbeck, if you gave her a chance."

Rose choked out a laugh, setting her mug back down. "Oh- okay. It's not... it's not okay to treat me or April like that, like we're... disposable or interchangeable."

"I know," he said earnestly. "I don't think that, please, even when I didn't, you know, have to do without it, I valued your friendship."

Her eyes held his for a moment, and he wished that he could read what was running through her mind when, abruptly, she beheaded her complimentary gingerbread figure. "Right."

"And..." Scorpius blew out his cheeks, trying to gather his courage. He understood why, then, that he had not been placed in Gryffindor, though he was still of the opinion that Gryffindors were too pigheaded to think through consequences. The idea of Rose saying 'no' loomed large, almost overwhelmingly so. "I'd like to be friends again. Or I'd like us to be _actual_ friends, not adversaries, sparring partners, fake this or that, not invisible."

Rose took another sip of her hot chocolate. Getting drinks had been a terrible idea, he thought, palms sweating as he awaited her verdict. A terrible, horrible idea that protracted every pause. "I mean," she said slowly, watching her own snow scene dissolve into the warm liquid, "it has to be said; you were a terrible sparring partner anyway. Verbally pulling my pigtails, any chance you got. It felt like swatting a relentless fly."

He could have collapsed in relief; she was joking. Well. He thought she was joking, anyway.

"And I'm genuinely concerned for your sanity or at least your sense of hearing if you voluntarily listen to Celestina Warbeck."

That prompted an outright grin from him. "Is that right? I bet you like the Wronski Boys. I'm right, aren't I? What abnormally bad taste you have."

The look on her face was a little sad then, but she kicked him under the table, and it seemed to cheer her up. "I will agree that being friends with you _is_ indicative of incredibly poor taste," she said, dramatically. "We'd better get on back to the shop now, or Hugo will be sent along to fetch us."

Grudgingly admitting that would _not_ be a good thing, Scorpius paid up. Baked goods in hand, they set off back to the shop, involved in a boisterous argument about the virtues or otherwise of banshee accompaniment that spiralled and lasted throughout much of the early afternoon. 

He did notice that the two mistletoe branches were set alight shortly after their reappearance, courtesy of a glowering Hugo's accuracy with the fireball bow and arrow set, but he wouldn't have pushed his luck that day anyway. Things had progressed further than he had hoped as it was, and he would treasure their occasional accidental brush of hands until term started again.

"Good day?" Astoria asked on his return. 

He beamed, and enveloped her in a hug. "I think so."


	14. Significant Otters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness, it is all over! Sorry that there has been radio silence for so long - it has been a very long year. BUT we got there in the end! Thank you for reading, and I really hope you enjoyed it.
> 
> Thanks to Lisa and Kyp for a lot of help and support along the way! And huge thanks to anybody who has left comments and/or kudos - I really appreciate it.

"Listen, I don't care if it looks and smells like a Bordeaux or any other French region - if I can taste the balsamic, it's still shitty vinegar."

"Grace is really hot on her wines, hmm?" Scorpius murmured.

Rose started at the interruption, having been absorbed in her Potions work. "I've only ever seen her drink Butterbeer," she replied, matching the volume of his voice so as not to incite the wrath of either other party. "I think she's trying to get her own back on Roxanne for failing her in Transfiguration."

"You must have missed her practising her non-verbal Aguamenti charm, then."

That made Rose grin; Grace had directed a fountain of water at Roxanne's pronouncement. Even if Rose had somehow managed to miss that, it would have been impossible not to notice Roxanne's ensuing torrent of swearing.

"We learned early on not to engage," Max advised, twirling his wand in his hand absently as he joined them. Scorpius contended that Max purposefully cultured an abstracted air; Rose thought it more likely that it was natural. Either way, both moved further out of range of the tip of the wand. "If you don't score her, she can't get angry with you."

Rose touched a finger to her lips in a silencing motion. "Don't give away all our secrets, Max! Somebody has to be the sacrifice, after all."

Scorpius's eyes crinkled, and she felt somewhat cheated when he slapped Max on the back. "Thank you for sharing the knowledge, Maximus. At least _somebody_ understands the purpose of Revision Club." 

Rose couldn't mistake his pointed look in her direction but she shrugged it off, returning to condensing her notes into bullet points. By now, Max was accustomed to Scorpius's version of pleasantries. He even took being called 'Maximum Capacity' relatively well as Scorpius entreated him to explain Golpalott's Second Law... somewhere else, where Rose wouldn't glare at them for disrupting the peace.

Once they had vacated, she tapped the nib of her quill against the ink bottle idly. Revision Club, despite Scorpius's jibes, was one of the highlights of her week. All her favourite people working together (mostly) in harmony now that exams were close enough to even have James sweating. The teachers had taken over Homework Club around March, seeing how reluctant Scorpius and Roxanne had been to devote the proper time to their own studies when the lower years needed help. Revision Club had risen in its wake, because she was surrounded by cowards afraid of Madame Pince's wrath (but also because the library was crammed with nervous OWL and NEWT students).

"Knut for your thoughts… on why I can't get my eyebrows to change any colour other than green," Albus said mournfully, hopping onto Scorpius's vacated stool.

"You look like you're moulding," Rose exclaimed, unable to be annoyed at the interruption when the results were so pleasing. " _Accio camera_." She waited a moment, but apparently the lock on her case had a more compelling argument for her camera staying put.

"I'd hate Scorpius to get hold of those pictures from your sixth birthday party," Albus said conversationally, tilting his head to scan through Rose's notecards. "Simply _hate_ for that to happen."

Rose waved her wand, and turned Albus's eyebrows white. "All right, stop fussing. I fixed your eyebrows; they're no longer green."

She almost felt bad when he grinned at her in relief. "Thanks, Rosie. Good job you got to them before James saw - though he probably wouldn't have taken his head out of his books long enough to notice, anyway."

They both glanced over to where James sat in the corner, a Quick Quotes quill scribbling away. He looked dangerously close to tugging out a handful of hair. This was surely proof, if proof were needed, of the truth of her mother's mantra that you couldn't start studying too early, but you could start too late. "I thought he was already signed to Puddlemere?"

"Well, yes, but he made the mistake of telling Mum he didn't care about his results because Dad had never finished school and look where that got him," Albus advised her, _sotto voce_. "Mum didn't say anything, but I heard Dad telling James later that he shouldn't worry about the exams, because just by sitting them, he'd do better than three of his uncles and his father. Seems to have lit a real fire under his cauldron."

"That sounds nice," Rose said gloomily. "Sometimes I have to fight to do my homework before Mum can get her hands on it."

Albus shook his head at her, and he didn't have to voice his thoughts of her study-conscious family for her to know what he was thinking. He settled down to pouring over his chicken-scratchings (how the professors worked out what he was trying to say was beyond her), and she was contemplating reversing the eyebrow spell, when he said, "Don't take this the wrong way", and she put her wand down. It would be interesting, in any case, to see if she'd managed to get the spell to last for longer than an hour.

"You're already taking it the wrong way, and I haven't even said anything yet," Albus protested, scanning her face. "Is it because I'm interrupting your study? We don't have exams until next year, Rosie, and you're already practically perfect in every way."

"If I've learned anything this year," Rose said slowly, using her wand to highlight key phrases in her notes, "it's that every time you decide you need to talk to me in private, you say something I don't want to hear." She could already tell it was about Scorpius; Albus's eyes had fallen on where he was sketching out glowing runes in the air around Grace, making her laugh.

Her cousin's face was unreadable for a moment, and then he said, "I think Scorpius is trying to win you back."

It was an effort not to laugh, but Rose bit down on her lower lip, and nodded. "What - what makes you think that?" 

"Well, he always used to be so rude to Grace and Max, and now look at him."

Obediently, Rose looked. His runes had devolved into some crude hieroglyphics, and Grace was - Merlin, actually adding to them. "I don't think you can criticise him for making friends." She neglected to mention that this was Scorpius adhering to his self-prescribed list of rules. #2 Stop antagonising the Ravenclaws, #3 Attempt to befriend them (even if this involves actually obeying essay length restrictions instead of modifying parchment). "He says it's part of the Ravenclaw Rehabilitation Programme; talk to friends, not books."

"Okay, but remember, your NEWT exams are only a year away." Albus showed no sign of the irony of this about-face.

"Actually, the correct phrasing would be to say that Rose's NEWTs are only a year away. The 'T' stands for 'test'; saying 'test exams' is redundant." Grace paused to allow this to sink in, a crowd of illuminated runes fluttering around her. "One wouldn't want to be redundant in a NEWT."

They watched Albus vacate the desk without a further word, and grinned at each other.

"All right, show off," Rose said finally, giving her attention to the runes. "How did you do that?"

"Apparently, it's all the rage for employees of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes to show their workings. You know, I know I was against your whole-" Grace waved her hands in the air, and the runes leapt with the movement. "-Slytherin infatuation initially, but I must say, it's finally paying off. If this keeps up, I'm more than happy to keep looking the other way when you're late to meal times."

There wasn't really anything Rose could say, but luckily, she was saved from having to come up with something by the appearance of a large clock on the wall, showing there were only five minutes until lunchtime. She blinked, and the minute hand seemed to shift, inching closer to twelve.

Grace winked at her. "Better get going." She gestured and the runes dissipated into thin air. "Oh, no, Rosie, I'm so sorry!" In the next moment, all Rose's carefully constructed notecards spilled out onto the floor. "I'll save you a space."

She watched her friends and cousins filter out before moving to gather up the cards. She could, of course, have collected them with a spell, but it gave her something to do for the few moments the room was empty.

"So, Grace knows, then."

Rose half-smiled, placing the cards back on the table. "That's your fault, for making her like you. She couldn't have cared less before."

Scorpius made a dismissive noise as he locked the door behind him. "Is it my fault that she's terrible at acting? 'Dear me, Malfoy, how do you expect me to go to the Dining Hall with you looking like that? Go comb your hair'."

"Maybe she actually wants you to comb your hair," Rose suggested, penitent once he pulled a face at her. Well. A little penitent.

"I was going to show you how my project is going, but if you'd rather make fun of me-"

Rose held her hands up in mock-surrender. "I can do both, I promise."

He smiled at her, and she felt her stomach swoop, as it always did with these little moments just between them. It didn't last long; they had learned to use these stolen times together to the best of their advantage. "If I can get this right, your dad will be really impressed."

She cleared a space on the floor for him, nudging a few of the desks backwards, and watched as he set a series of figures on the floor.

"Deepest apologies to yourself and all your family, but this is the song they happen to like best."

Rose was puzzled until Scorpius waved his wand, and the first strains of Glamour Me This started. "I swear, Malfoy-"

"I'll silence you if I have to, Weasley."

He didn't, as it turned out. Rose sat on the floor wordlessly, the better to appreciate Scorpius's work in motion. Seven doll figures waltzed across the floor to the strains of Celestina Warbeck. "They're beautiful." She watched the sweep of the dress robes, the elegance of the frame, and imagined her eight-year-old self being gifted the dancers. "Dad's going to love it."  
"Good," Scorpius said briskly, tapping the dolls' box with his wand to recall the figures. "I'm going to need some credit in the bank once we expose our torrid affair to all and sundry."

They should really be headed to lunch. Really, their friends would have ravaged the table by now. But they had a few more minutes before it was urgent, and Rose couldn't resist. "Torrid affair makes it sound rather more like we've spent our spare time unable to keep our hands off each other."

He made a thoughtful sound, sitting back on his heels. "It does, doesn't it? And there's always Rule Number Six to abide by."

"I think you've been rather neglectful of Rule Number Six."

"Perish the thought," he whispered, and kissed her.

\--

"Are you sure you don't want to sit with us?"

Grace shook her head, her plait swinging vigorously. "Not a chance. I've absolutely no wish to end up with a duck's beak or shark fins or whatever else just because you Weasleys can't handle being confined for a few hours. Besides, it looks as though someone already saved you a space."

Even though Rose knew he had, her stomach squirmed pleasantly as she caught sight of Scorpius leaning out of a compartment door. "Need a hand, Weasley?" he called out.

Having turned 17 in May, Rose had never taken more pleasure in placing her trunk on the train with a neat _swish and flick_ action, encumbered only by a nudge to her back. Looking behind her, she picked out April amongst a gaggle of fifth year girls.

She climbed into the compartment, relieved to see that Scorpius was the only occupant. "Did you talk to April about us?"

He looked like a Niffler, caught with its nose in somebody's purse. His fingers slipped under her cloak to fiddle with her shirt collar, tugging at the right leaf. During the year, he'd shot up, but she liked having to tilt her head up to kiss him. "Sort of. She said 'bless you, and bless Weasley too', or something very similar. Do you want to talk about her, or how otterly delightful you look right now?"

"Who needs to talk- oh, Merlin."

"Don't we look cosy?" Lily announced from the internal doorway, looking as though she was enjoying herself hugely. She probably was.

A moment later, Albus's voice emerged from the corridor. "Is she in there? Hurry up and get your arse inside, Lily!"

He would come to regret shoving Lily through, Rose was sure, not only for the vengeance Lily would serve upon him (both hot and cold - Lily liked her revenge to be thorough), but for the sight of Rose and Scorpius, his fingers still tangled in her clothes. 

"Oh, great, you're all here," Rose squeaked, sinking down into a corner seat and pulling Scorpius after her. They'd discussed that they would tell her family if it came up during the train journey, though she'd expected at least to have left Hogsmeade Station. "Scorpius and I have something we'd like to tell you."

"Nobody wants to hear it," Hugo responded, pushing past to get the other corner seat, book in hand. "Please keep it all to yourselves."

Albus was standing in the centre, frowning. He didn't move when the train did, simply planted his feet further apart to steady himself. "So, when you told me Tomkins had given you detention, but he didn't seem to know anything about it when I asked…?"

Scorpius eased his arm around Rose. "Sorry, mate. Thought it was pretty generous of him to offer you detention in my place."

With some difficulty, Rose bit back a smile. She was reasonably sure that was the time they'd hidden themselves in Greenhouse Two, trading kisses and pretending to be studying when Uncle Neville had come to check on them. He'd been good enough not to question anything, though, now she thought about it, he had only checked on them once.

"And when we couldn't find you for our Weasley Gobstone Tournament!"

"Actually, no. Well, yes, but that one was mostly because I don't like gobstones."

"If you like," Lily put in, prodding Albus aside with her foot so that she could partake in the conversation, "I'll tell Uncle Ron for you. And Mister Malfoy."

"No - no, nobody wants that," Scorpius interjected. His hand clenched around Rose's upper arm; she wiggled her shoulder in an attempt to loosen his grip. "I mean, are you going to admit to not having picked up on anything for three months? Frankly, I'd be embarrassed."

Very little embarrassed Lily, so Rose held her breath, but Lily seemed to be chewing over his comments.

"You are going to tell them, right?" Hugo closed his book for the first time since he'd sat down.

Rose nodded, glancing up at Scorpius. "We're hoping to visit each other over the summer."

"Do you think Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry would take me in?" Hugo asked Lily.

Despite Grace's predictions, the train journey was relatively uneventful. They were passing through York when a kick jolted the drowsy Rose. She opened her eyes to find Albus had replaced her brother in the seat opposite, something for which she wasn't entirely grateful.

"All right, Confrontation Al. Get it over with," she said sleepily, noticing that Scorpius's nap was undisturbed. As begrudging as she felt, that little warm feeling rose up inside her again, and she rested her head against his shoulder, content.

"Just… tell me what happened."

Rose yawned, stretching her legs out so she could place her feet on Albus's seat. "Well, you asked me - _blackmailed_ me into being Scorpius's fake girlfriend." Albus mimed his own yawn, and circled his index finger in the air, indicating that she should move on. "Look, after Christmas, we tried the friendship thing, and it worked, it was great. But then I - we - wanted more. He came up with all these rules, and he's worked really hard to make everything up to me. He's made such an effort with everybody. I swear, I saw him having a proper conversation with James the other day."

"James was probably concussed," Albus threw in, and then appeared to repent at Rose's face. "No, look. The guy's one of my closest friends, but I want to make sure that you're okay. I mean, he cons his ex-girlfriends, duplicates your quills, turns your cousins against you…"

She nudged him with her foot. "I think we're over all that now. But if I'm wrong, I give you full permission to team up with Lily against him."

"Just try and stop us," Albus said with a grin and, to Rose's relief, that appeared to be the end of it.

Grace's prediction did come to pass somewhere around Milton Keynes, and Rose ruefully inspected her boyfriend's mottled green complexion as they stepped off the train. "I guess at least my parents have already met you."

"Maybe you don't have to meet mine today," Scorpius suggested, tilting her face up. "I mean, how long will it take your eyebrows to grow back?"

"Aren't you two quite the pair?" 

At the sound of her mother's voice, Rose and Scorpius both paled (putrid green was not, as it turned out, an improvement on him). Fortunately, Albus stepped off the train, still yipping happily, and panting for the ball Scorpius had thrown out of the window at Watford. 

"Albus - Al-" Hermione frowned as Albus barked and scrambled past her.

"I wouldn't worry about him, Mum, he's feeling a bit ruff - er, rough, I think. Look, Scorpius and I, we-" She faltered at the amused look on her mother's face. "You already know?"

"Just an inkling, dear. Your father was sure that Scorpius had only pure intentions behind continuing to be involved in the shop. He's over here - he'll be so pleased."

"I'm going to die," Scorpius said glumly, wrapping his arms around Rose. "He's going to put my head outside Diagon Alley as a warning for any future would-be partners."

Rose grinned at him. "He would never do that. Knockturn Alley is much more likely."

She felt him shake with laughter, and he pressed his lips to her temple. It was funny. This time last year, if she'd seen him at the station, they might have exchanged barbs, but the whole encounter would have been forgotten as soon as it was over. Now, she was trying to memorise the way he felt under her hands, trying to sneak kisses in case she wasn't able to see him for a few days.

Really, they had Albus to thank for it all, and they'd gifted him with canine attributes. But that was life with the Weasleys all over. Scorpius was getting used to it, and hopefully his parents wouldn't object too much to having a chartreuse son for a few hours. Hopefully they wouldn't mind letting him visit Rose - or vice versa - throughout the summer. At least they'd both got their Apparition licences.

"You are miles away already," Scorpius complained.

"You're not following Rule Number Six," she countered.

Back in January, he'd come to her with a list of Six Rules to Help Scorpius Malfoy Behave Himself. Somewhere along the line, the original Rule #6, ('Scorpius shall keep his hands to himself') had morphed into the Kissing Rule, which was essentially 'many' and 'often'.

Scorpius, as usual, obliged.


End file.
